Obituary of Helen Virginia Farrell

Dobbs Ferry, NY Helen Virginia (Jean) Farrell, 93, passed into the welcoming arms of God and her Guardian Angel under the loving bedside care of her daughter Kathleen and Cabrini of Westchester Nursing Home on November 18, 2020. She was born in 1927 in Syracuse, NY to Marie Scholl Griesmyer and Mark Martin Griesmyer. After marriage in 1953, she moved to the Albany area and, with her husband and Irish Wolfhound, raised 5 children in Glenmont on the Hudson River with summers at Babcock Lake. She worked for many years for NYS, retiring in 1988 from a position in the UAlbany library. Jean was loved for her humor, playfulness, friendship, cookies, and perseverance despite adversity. She loved and took immense pride in her children and grandchildren and gave them unwavering support and encouragement. She bequeathed a treasure trove of memories. Predeceased relatives include her parents, her sister Carolyn Miles, and her former husband David L. Farrell. She is survived by children Virginia (Mark) Mahigian, Kathleen (late Kenneth) Birnbaum, Judith Ann Farrell, Cynthia Ferendzo, and David M. Farrell; grandchildren Diana (David), Ryan, Gregory, Kyle and Robin; and several nieces and nephews. A Catholic Mass for her intention will be said at the Chapel at Cabrini Nursing Home on her birthday December 4. Family will celebrate her life at a later time at St. John the Baptist Church in Syracuse, NY with a graveside service at Assumption Cemetery in Syracuse. If you would like to make a donation in her memory, please consider the St. John’s/St. Ann’s Outreach Center in Albany http://www.sjsacenter.org/ or Cabrini of Westchester http://www.cabrini-eldercare.org/ (Please note, Helen's requested obituary was: “I died. So there.”)