William Douglas Farrell

William Douglas Farrell was born August 18th 1930 in Toronto Canada. He passed away on February 4th 2017. Doug was the eldest of three children born to William Henry & Florence Langely Farrell. Also born unto this union were sisters Joan & Donna, Donna resides in San Diego, his sister Joan and his parents are deceased. Doug was about 15 months old when his parents moved to Boston Massachusetts. There his parents purchased a three story older home which they converted into a boarding house where his mother made donuts and his father drove around town selling them for 3 cents each. His father also started a painting and wallpapering business and the likeness between Doug and his father was remarkable! Doug attended Ringe Technical School in Cambridge Mass from 1943 to 1947. There he learned carpentry and he mastered the art of woodworking. He became a life long member of the carpenters union, building things was his forte’. In 1952 Doug was drafted into the United States Army and attained the rank of Corporal. He proudly served during the Korean war and was honorably discharged on April 21st 1954, and served for 8 years on standby reserve as required. Douglas married Aileen Marie Shepard in 1956, and from their union a daughter “Susan Marie Shepard” was born, and from Susan came a grandson “Robert Douglas Sanchez”. Doug also helped to raise Aileen’s three children from a previous marriage, Doug & Aileen were later divorced. Doug then met and married Juanita Dollahite Farrell. Juanita had two adult children of her own, David and Cammie Murphy. (Cammie is deceased) Juanita had cared for many Foster children and Doug was very much a part of the children’s lives, and some of those children are here today! Doug and Juanita owned several motorhomes over the years and loved to travel, camp and go fishing with the kids. He was a great teacher to the children and he taught them many things, including learning about life. An interesting story about Doug’s parents was little known. When Doug was about 18 months old, his parents were arrested and detained for three days and two nights for questioning about the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby. They of course were cleared of any wrongdoing and released, but never the less, an interesting story. Douglas William Farrell became a legal citizen of the United States of America on November 13th 1939. He possessed his documents from the immigration department all of his life. Doug came to the Veterans center where he lived the rest of his life, on March 19th 2013. He loved working in the woodshop, playing Bingo, and teasing the Nurses on a day to day basis. He always enjoyed bantering with Randy and Michael about his “Under Cover” assignment at the V.A.. William Douglas Farrell was a husband, father, grandfather, brother and one of the hardest working men on this earth. He will be laid to rest at Mira Mar National Cemetery on a later date. “Rest in peace Corporal Farrell, your watch is over”….