Francis Farley, 72, diligent city worker
FRANCIS W. FARLEY Jr. had to start his working life at an early age. His father died when he was 9, and his widowed mother needed his help. At age 12, he handled two paper routes for the old Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
FRANCIS W. FARLEY Jr. had to start his working life at an early age.
His father died when he was 9, and his widowed mother needed his help. At age 12, he handled two paper routes for the old Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
Later, he was a vendor at Philadelphia Athletics games at Shibe Park, University of Pennsylvania football games at Franklin Field and the Army-Navy game at the old Municipal Stadium.
Frank never got a free ride. He worked all the time he was in school, but he managed to graduate from West Catholic High School and earn a varsity letter on the rifle team.
He worked as a clerk for the old Pennsylvania Railroad while attending night classes at Saint Joseph's University. He received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1958.
He eventually joined the Philadelphia city government and worked his way up to administrator in the office of the Board of Revision of Taxes before his retirement.
He died Saturday of lung cancer. He was 72 and lived in the Northeast.
Frank was born in Philadelphia to Francis Farley and the former Kathryn Yost. His parents were active in the deaf community. His father was a graduate of the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and president of the Philadelphia Deaf Athletics Club.
As a result, Frank maintained a lifelong interest in helping the disabled.
He spent his early years in Frankford and Upper Darby. He moved to West Oak Lane as a teen, and spent most of his adult years in Northeast Philly.
In 1958, he married the former Joanne Hafer, and started working for the city as a management trainee.
He also attended graduate school in government studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Frank became a personnel technician in the personnel department, developing and scoring civil-service exams.
He later moved to the Board of Revision of Taxes, where he spent 20 years. He retired in 1998.
On his retirement, he was thanked by the municipal workers unions for the information he had provided that enabled them to fight provisions of then-Mayor Ed Rendell's five-year plan in the early 1990s, as well as city charter changes that were defeated by the electorate in 1994.
Frank was proud of his Irish heritage and collected books on Irish and Irish-American history. He was also a railroad and trolley buff.
"He was a quiet, diligent man," said his son, Joseph. "He was not the kind of guy to show emotion, but he believed firmly in integrity in government."
Frank was a devout Catholic and an active member of St. Jerome's Church.
Besides his wife and son, he is survived by two other sons, Francis III and John; a daughter, Marie, and four grandsons.
Services: Funeral Mass 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Jerome's Church, Holme Avenue and Stamford Street. Friends may call at 9 a.m.
Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1626 Locust St., Philadelphia, 19103, or the Fox Chase Cancer Center, 7701 Burholme Ave., Philadelphia, 19111. *