Dorothy A. Farrell

FARRELL, Dorothy Ann Ahearn, 90, of Quincy, MA passed away peacefully at her home on August 3, 2020 surrounded by family. Loving mother to her eight children, and “nana” to her 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, she was the quiet but imperturbable center of gravity of the clan.

            The youngest of four daughters born to Irish immigrants, Jack and Bridget Kenneally Ahearn, she grew up in Savin Hill.  Dot, as she was fondly called, was beautiful, smart and popular. She was the president of her class at Boston Girls High School and the first in her family to attend college, receiving an Associate in Arts degree from Boston University.

            Her plans for a career in writing and editing took a turn when, at 16, she met 20 year-old David Farrell at a neighborhood house party. Dave was standing shyly near the record player when she approached. She asked him if he liked to dance. He said he didn’t know how, so she said she could teach him. He walked her home that night. Their first date was the next evening, at a Boston Bruins game. Dot was enthralled with the sport and soon enough, with Dave. They married in 1949.

            Over the next two decades, Dot and Dave were blessed with and rejoiced in their family of eight children. Dot cherished each one with an unequivocal love and understanding, showing a remarkable capacity to appreciate their individual gifts, talents, idiosyncrasies and even shortcomings. She would freely mention how much she had learned from her children and how proud she was of each.

            Always patient and thoughtful, Dot was a gifted listener. Her understated demeanor belied a great wit and she had a fun-loving sense of humor. She was never confrontational and seldom raised her voice. Yet her quiet perseverance and determination would often carry the day. Dot valued family bonds and her children learned from her wisdom and deep Catholic faith that no rift was too big to mend, and no conflict should be allowed to sever their relationships.

            Despite the noise and needs of their expanding family, Dot and Dave had an open door policy for their friends and families. Nieces, nephews and the friends of their children were always welcome to drop by, to stay, to eat, and, of course, to talk. This hospitality was on display at home, as well as during vacations to Humarock and New Hampshire.  She was an active hostess and all who knew her have precious memories of her splashing in the surf and encouraging family and friends into the chilly water and waves.

            This self-proclaimed 'city girl', lover of sidewalks, grew to have an equally strong enthusiasm for the mountains and forests of New Hampshire. After several years of renting there, she and Dave embarked on the adventure of second home ownership. As at Humarock, friends and family enjoyed the same gracious hospitality at the old farmhouse in the mountains.

            As her children grew up and Dot acquired more free time, she generously volunteered at Meals on Wheels and enjoyed listening to the stories of her homebound clients. She was not by nature a group joiner, but a woman who quietly performed acts of kindness, helping whenever and wherever she could, and always with a patient ear and gentle gesture.
            Dot's accomplishments were many and varied. She was an avid reader and crossword aficionado throughout her life and brought her editing and vocabulary skills to help Dave in his writing career. She was an eager lifelong learner and when he set up his own business, she became his very competent assistant and bookkeeper. Self-taught, she became an excellent cook, saying it was easy if you loved to eat! She learned to be a skilled seamstress and crafted professional level dresses and suits. She was a prodigious craftswoman, knitting sweaters and crocheting numerous afghans, blankets, baby clothes and most cherished of all – Christmas Stockings for all of her grandchildren. Dot loved music and, to their chagrin, she insisted that her children take piano lessons. She herself learned to play an electric organ. Dot remained physically active and fit well into her later years as, inspired perhaps by the activities she encouraged in her children, she took up figure skating, tennis, hiking and, remarkably in her fifties, alpine skiing.
            Dot had always yearned to travel and when her children were old enough to be  companions she was able to indulge her dream, traveling the world with each of her four daughters, but most often with Mary, who recalls that Dot was an active and engaged traveler, reading carefully and researching their trips, carrying her own luggage and happily riding the Metro. Together they visited Canada, Paris, London, Rome, Ireland, the Riviera and Hawaii.  Dot was always grateful for her chance to see the world.

            Over the decades, three constants emerged as the dominating characteristics of Dot’s life: her devotion to family; her 60-year love affair with Dave; and her Catholic faith that served as the bedrock of their lives.

            Dot was pre-deceased by her three sisters, Margaret (Peggy) Cafarelli of Savin Hill, Eleanor (Ellie) Ahearn of Quincy and Mary Mooney of Stoughton.
            Dave passed away in 2006, in their 57th year of marriage, and though she missed him every day of her life, Dot continued to thrive in her close relationships with her children and grandchildren. Her lifelong sense of style, her aesthetic appreciation for color and form brought her in her seventies to art. She worked with teachers and found, she always said to her own surprise, that she had an eye for painting and maybe even some talent. She enjoyed the satisfaction of creating beauty in a new form, as a watercolorist of coastal and mountain scenes that are cherished by her children.
            Dorothy is survived by her eight children: Dr. Colleen Farrell of Pembroke; David A. Farrell and his wife Ellen of Brockton; Joanne F. Campo, Esq. and her husband John of Milton; Greg Farrell and his wife Cathy Taylor of Pelham, NY, John Farrell and his wife Dr. Carmen Bozic of Newton, Mary Farrell of Quincy, Mark Farrell and his wife Karen of South Easton, Bridget Henry and her husband Pat of Wollaston.

            Her grandchildren include Brian Selig and his wife Courtney of Marshfield and their sons Adam and Jake; Amanda Bacon and her husband Matt of Plantsville, CT, and their children Will and Annelise; David Farrell and his wife Heather of West Bridgewater and their children, Margaret, Patrick, Brendan and Cecelia; Elizabeth Farrell-Fren and her husband Michael of Brockton and their children, Charlotte and Oscar; Colleen Farrell of Boston; Monica Farrell of Brockton; David Campo of Brighton; Paul Campo of Brighton; 1st Lt. Stephen Campo, U.S.M.C.; Sam Farrell and Irina Farrell of Pelham, NY; Ingrid Farrell and Deirdre Farrell of Newton; Joe Graves of Beverly; Roisin Henry of Brighton; Thomas Henry, Joseph Henry, Finn Henry and Camille Henry of Wollaston.

Visiting hours will be Thursday, August 6, at the Alfred D. Thomas Funeral Home 326 Granite Ave Milton from 4-7 PM. There will be a private mass of Christian burial at St. Agatha Church, Milton on Friday, August 7th.  .

 

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