Obituary for William Farley PhD William H. Farley, Ph.D. passed away peacefully on September 23, 2018 at Elmcroft Senior Living Center at the age of 101. He was born in Savannah, Georgia on January 29, 1917 and is the son of the late Horace Farley and Daisy Palmer. He moved to Lewistown in 1964.
Dr. Farley earned his undergraduate degree from Hampton Institute where he fell under the influence of George Washington Carver. Dr. Farley’s interactions with the legendary American botanist and inventor piqued his interest in agriculture and led to a career that he would passionately pursue for the rest of his life. He went on to pursue his doctorate in agriculture from Rutgers University and was a soil scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture.
He worked for over 20 years, providing advice and support to the farmers in Mifflin and Juniata counties and throughout southern Pennsylvania. He was also a B-25 pilot in WWII as part of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. He went on to marry Laura Chase in Annapolis, Maryland on February 10, 1944.
Dr. Farley was a member of the Grange, Pipe Dreamer’s Club and Kiwanis Club. He enjoyed reading his daily newspapers, landscaping his home, working in his vegetable garden, and investing in the Stock Market. In the winter months of his later years, he could be seen shoveling the snow from not only his sidewalk but his neighbors’ as well.
Such was the caring person he was raised to be. His parents, his wife Laura (2009) and his son William H. Farley, Jr. (2016) preceded him in death. He is survived by his son Michael, his wife Toni and a granddaughter Alexandra; his daughter-in-law Gale and grandsons Royal and William (and his wife Lindsay); his son John and his wife Angela and grandchildren Joshua and Gianna.
His advice on leading a long life was eating plenty of gumbo and cornbread, and his proudest accomplishments was raising his children. His surviving family will remember him fondly as the inestimable patriarch of a wonderful family and a person who always sought to serve and leave his community a better place. He was a man who, from the time he joined the United States Army prior to WWII and throughout his career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cherished commitment to the service of others and took great joy in helping his fellow man.
A funeral service in his honor will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Barr Funeral Home and Crematory, located at 120 Logan Street, Lewistown with Rev. John Harwood officiating. Interment will be in St. Mark’s Cemetery.
A viewing will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services at the funeral home. To send flowers to the family of William Farley PhD, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.
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