Thomas R. Farrell

1928 - 2011
Thomas R. Farrell, 83, a lawyer and political activist, died on July 16 after a long illness in New York City. A vibrant force in New York's raucous political life during the 1960s, Farrell worked closely with New York Mayor John Lindsay. Appointed to the Civilian Review Board in 1966, he was active in many early organizations that were at the forefront of shaping civil rights policy. His outstanding contributions on that front led to a position with Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign committee.

As part of Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign team, Farrell was at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel on the tragic night of Senator Kennedy's assassination.

Farrell served as president of the groundbreaking Catholic Interracial Council, Riverdale Mental Health, and The New York Bar Association. Farrell was also a founding member of Riverdale Intergroup. Sizing up the astonishing amount of civil rights infractions in a seemingly progressive community, the Riverdale Intergroup paved the way for African Americans and other minorities to rent and buy apartments in the upscale Hudson River Bronx community – righting many previous wrongs.

Tom Farrell started his law career at New York's Simpson Thacher & Bartlett law firm, leaving to become general counsel for the New York Board of Education. During the late 1960s, Farrell joined the Law Firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison. In the 1970s, Farrell was a founding partner of the law firm of Gold, Farrell and Marks, where he worked until he retired.

Farrell was born in Bay Shore, New York on March 18, 1928. He was married to Diane Efantes on September 30, 1950.

He graduated from Colgate University and Columbia Law School, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and member of the Law Review. Farrell served in the US Army in 1954 where he served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

On a lighter note, Farrell was a gourmet cook who loved French food and wines. He and his wife traveled extensively in France. Tom was also a lifelong baseball fan, first of the New York Giants, and then a diehard Yankee fan. He was also one of the original "spies" for Zagat's Restaurant Guide.

Farrell is survived by his wife of 61 years, Diane, six children and seven grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service held in his honor on Saturday, October 15 at 11:00 am at Christ Church Riverdale, 5030 Henry Hudson Parkway East, Bronx, New York 10471.