JOYCE DAVERN FARRELL

FARRELL, Joyce Davern, 81, of Richmond, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 27, 2012. Mrs. Farrell was born in Syracuse, N.Y., the daughter of the late Francis Edmund and Elizabeth O'Hara Davern. She was also predeceased by her husband of 53 years, William Anthony Farrell. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Ann Waterbury of Fleming Island, Fla.; as well as her two sons, William Anthony "Tony" Farrell Jr. and wife, Laura, of Richmond, and Richard Davern "Rick" Farrell and wife, Connie, of Charlotte, N.C.; and her three grandchildren, Katherine Joyce Farrell, Lucy Davern Farrell and William Anthony Farrell III; as well as other extended family and friends. Mrs. Farrell spent her childhood in Syracuse and the nearby Finger Lakes village of Skaneateles and attended the Goodyear-Burlingame School in Syracuse before graduating from the Knox School in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1950. She later received an Associate in Arts degree from Mount Vernon Junior College in Washington, D.C., in 1952 and enjoyed a career as an interior decorator before marrying and raising a family. A longtime parishioner at St. Bridget Catholic Church, Mrs. Farrell gave unselfishly of her time as a volunteer to numerous church causes and ministries over the years, as well as to the efforts of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Junior Leagues of both Syracuse and Richmond. Mrs. Farrell will always be remembered by all who knew and loved her as a supreme example of grace, style, dignity and humor, a "true lady" who lived a beautiful life on her own terms and whose generous heart and independent spirit will continue to grace all who had the good fortune to know her. She will also forever occupy a most special place in the hearts of her two boys, to whom she was eternally devoted and who have looked to her for guidance, wisdom and inspiration throughout their lives. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, September 30, at Bliley's-Central Chapel, 3801 Augusta Ave. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, October 1, at 10 a.m. at St. Bridget Catholic Church, 6006 Three Chopt Road. Entombment will immediately follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 1400 S. Randolph St. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1503 Michaels Road, Richmond, Va. 23229.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.