John T. Farley

Now home with Jesus, John was born in Brooklyn, New York to the late John Thomas “Tom” Farley and Margaret Baylor Farley. John’s surviving family members include his wife of 53 years, Loretta; son Kenneth & daughter-in-law Teresa, granddaughter Kayla, step-grandson Eric Curb, step-granddaughter Elisha Curb; daughter Adrienne Farley; nephew Ronald Brown and niece Barrie Chapin and her husband Alex; four sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law and many cousins. Others he included as part of the family are Sharon Chang Mou, her husband David and sons Shervin and David; Somnuk Krutsaysaad and sons Poom and Pat. He is also preceded in death by his half-brother A. Coraneous Farley and half-sister Evelyn Philpot. Son of deacon and piano tuner Tom and nurse Margaret, John became a believer in Christ at a young age, and felt a call from the Lord on his life even as a child. Throughout his life, he supported several missionaries & missional organizations including a long involvement with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Traveling to Ecuador in 1967, he met Tariri, a former headhunting member of the Auca tribe and Rachel Saint (sister of martyred missionary Nate Saint; see Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot). These encounters may have birthed his involvement in helping to translate the Word for those who were without scripture in their mother tongue. In 2005, along with his wife, he started working from home as a volunteer with Wycliffe Associates, collecting and processing data for WA’s People Profile project. Loving travel, often his trips were combined with opportunities to share the gospel with those he encountered on his journeys. As a member of several church communities over his lifetime, John enjoyed studying the Word, and served many years as an usher at both Cathedral of Praise World Outreach Center in Oklahoma City and later at Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, NM. He worked for the Federal Aviation Administration from 1961 to February 2002 as an electrical engineer. He began his career with the FAA at JFK Airport in NY, later moving his family to Oklahoma City where he eventually became an instructor at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. Over the years, he worked for the FAA in Albany, NY; at Wiley Post Airport in Bethany and finished his career as an instructor at Mike Monroney. Upon retirement, he relocated with Loretta from Oklahoma City to Rio Rancho, NM. They returned to Oklahoma City in 2012. As mentioned before, he loved to travel. In 1975, on a release from the FAA, John took a three-year overseas assignment with the United Nations Development Programme to teach at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Center in Zaria. Then, in 1979, he again took a two-year assignment with the UNDP in Hua Hin, Thailand. Due in part to these relocations, John and his family have many friends scattered around the globe. John became interested in genealogy in the 80’s; his search of his family history found links to Pocahontas and both Presidents Harrison. Ice skating was another of John’s passions, and he even performed in several amateur programs. He was very interested in the space program and attended the adult U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, AL where he was selected to be the captain of his group. He aspired to one day take an actual space flight, and at one time John had his private pilot’s license. After retiring with Loretta to New Mexico in 2002, John’s interests included hiking and Isotopes baseball, and he even attempted to start a stickball league among the kids in his Rio Rancho neighborhood. At age 70, John hiked to Sandia Peak and at 72 he took a river rafting trip along the Rio Grande with the support of the men of his church community at Tramway even as his health was beginning to fail. John was able to pursue many things in this life. His family believes he’s now on to his next big adventure, resting in Jesus, and we look forward to hearing his stories when we get there. THANKS John’s family would like to thank the Sooner Hospice team and the Right Choice Personal Assistance and Home Instead Senior Care caregivers for their invaluable caring support of John and our family over the last year and a half. To the staff and his friends at the Daily Living Center in Bethany, thank you for picking up and welcoming John twice a week. We were blessed to be able to have John spend his last days at Integris Hospice House, and appreciate so much the help and kindness of the staff. A special Thank You goes to all family and friends for the outpouring of their prayers and encouragement. The Farley family gives praise & glory to God always, but is especially grateful to Him for His presence, kindness, and mercy during John's last few years. He is always good, and we experienced this over and again as He walked with us through all the details. We couldn't have done this without Him. Psalm 100 A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his.[a] We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS: The family suggests making a donation to Wycliffe Bible Translators https://www.wycliffe.org/donate/ Wycliffe Bible Translators P.O. Box 628200 Orlando, FL 32862 Or call: 1-800-WYCLIFFE (992-5433) 407-852-3600 Visitation Friday, February 13th, 2015 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM - Corbett Funeral & Cremation 807 W Wilshire Blvd Oklahoma City, OK - 73116 To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of John T. Farley please visit our Sympathy Store.