George J. Farrell Jr., lawyer and politician, dies at 93
George J. Farrell Jr., a co-founder of the Farrell Fritz law firm, with his wife, Patricia. Credit: Margaret A. Farrell
It was not only George J. Farrell Jr.'s legal expertise that stood out, family, friends and colleagues say, but also his gentle manner, his compassion for others, and his commitment to service through the law and beyond.
Farrell, whose long career in the law was preceded by years in political office at the village and state level, died of lymphoma on Dec. 11 at his Sag Harbor home, a daughter said. He was 93.
Margaret “Meg” Farrell, of Sag Harbor, one of his three daughters, called him a “gentle man.” He also was “kind, giving, compassionate and empathetic,” she said.
Meg Farrell said when she was 4 years old in the 1970s, her parents sponsored “a Vietnamese family through the Roman Catholic church in Floral Park, Our Lady of Victory. My parents never saw color in people … We grew up having a lot of people of different ethnicities around us, and it started for me at the age of 4 with the Vietnamese family.”
Robert Creighton, managing partner of the Farrell Fritz law firm, which Farrell co-founded in 1976, called Farrell a “servant leader,” a lawyer not only committed to his clients “but also committed to the community in which he lived.”
Creighton and others currently at the Uniondale-based law firm, along with former partners, said Farrell's ethos infused the firm, with many lawyers serving on charitable boards and doing pro bono work, just as Farrell did.
On its website, Farrell Fritz posted several tributes to Farrell from current partners and others. Creighton said in his online tribute that “George was a gentleman whose character shaped the firm. He was dedicated to providing service to clients and to the community; these remain core values of the firm today.”
James Wicks, U.S. magistrate judge of the Eastern District of New York and a former partner with the law firm, was among those who gave online tributes, saying Farrell “perfectly embodied what a consummate lawyer should be: compassionate, caring and a trusted advisor to all in need.”
Wicks said in an interview Wednesday that he first worked for Farrell in the late 1980s as a paralegal at Farrell Fritz while going to law school at night. “And then I came back to Farrell Fritz in the mid-’90s and stayed there until I took the bench two and a half years ago.” He said a key characteristic of Farrell's was his “patience and wisdom.”
In his eulogy for Farrell he shared with Newsday, lawyer Tom Killeen said he met Farrell in 1983, “then a powerful individual who, despite his prominence, exuded humility … George was the consummate gentleman lawyer, whose legal skills and practical advice were constantly sought out, not just locally, but internationally.”
Farrell spent six months as a volunteer with the Macedonian government from 1993 to 1994, helping the new country create laws for its democratic constitution.
Farrell was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, in 1930, but his family soon moved to Floral Park, his daughter said. He attended what is now Xavier High School in Manhattan, graduating in 1948. He graduated from Fordham University in 1952 with a bachelor's in political science. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, and was deployed to Japan during the Korean War, his daughter said. After his military service, he went to Brooklyn Law School, earning his law degree in 1957.
He and his wife, Patricia, settled in Floral Park, where they raised five children. They had been married for 66 years at the time of his death, his daughter said.
In the 1960s, Farrell began his political career, serving as mayor of Floral Park Village from 1963 to 1965. A year later he was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he emerged as a major Republican figure in Nassau County and the state, according to news reports at the time. He served eight years in the Assembly, deciding not to run again in 1974.
Farrell served on many nonprofit boards, including Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Rockville Centre; Cormaria Retreat Center in Sag Harbor; and Winthrop University Hospital (now NYU Langone Winthrop), where he was chairman of the board.
He retired from Farrell Fritz in the 1990s, but still maintained an office at the firm, Creighton said. A New York Times article in 2002 noted that Farrell, though retired four years earlier, still came into a satellite law office of Farrell Fritz out east, not far from his Sag Harbor home. Said Farrell: “The retirement didn't take. I come in almost every day.”
In addition to his daughter Margaret and his wife, survivors include daughters Kathleen Farrell of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Dubuss of Floral Park; sons Joseph Farrell of Manhattan and Kevin Farrell of Rockville Centre; and six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass for Farrell was celebrated on Monday at St. Andrew's Church in Sag Harbor. He was cremated.
Correction: The Farrell Fritz law firm is based in Uniondale. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect location.
It was not only George J. Farrell Jr.'s legal expertise that stood out, family, friends and colleagues say, but also his gentle manner, his compassion for others, and his commitment to service through the law and beyond.
Farrell, whose long career in the law was preceded by years in political office at the village and state level, died of lymphoma on Dec. 11 at his Sag Harbor home, a daughter said. He was 93.
Margaret “Meg” Farrell, of Sag Harbor, one of his three daughters, called him a “gentle man.” He also was “kind, giving, compassionate and empathetic,” she said.
Meg Farrell said when she was 4 years old in the 1970s, her parents sponsored “a Vietnamese family through the Roman Catholic church in Floral Park, Our Lady of Victory. My parents never saw color in people … We grew up having a lot of people of different ethnicities around us, and it started for me at the age of 4 with the Vietnamese family.”
Robert Creighton, managing partner of the Farrell Fritz law firm, which Farrell co-founded in 1976, called Farrell a “servant leader,” a lawyer not only committed to his clients “but also committed to the community in which he lived.”
Creighton and others currently at the Uniondale-based law firm, along with former partners, said Farrell's ethos infused the firm, with many lawyers serving on charitable boards and doing pro bono work, just as Farrell did.
On its website, Farrell Fritz posted several tributes to Farrell from current partners and others. Creighton said in his online tribute that “George was a gentleman whose character shaped the firm. He was dedicated to providing service to clients and to the community; these remain core values of the firm today.”
James Wicks, U.S. magistrate judge of the Eastern District of New York and a former partner with the law firm, was among those who gave online tributes, saying Farrell “perfectly embodied what a consummate lawyer should be: compassionate, caring and a trusted advisor to all in need.”
Wicks said in an interview Wednesday that he first worked for Farrell in the late 1980s as a paralegal at Farrell Fritz while going to law school at night. “And then I came back to Farrell Fritz in the mid-’90s and stayed there until I took the bench two and a half years ago.” He said a key characteristic of Farrell's was his “patience and wisdom.”
In his eulogy for Farrell he shared with Newsday, lawyer Tom Killeen said he met Farrell in 1983, “then a powerful individual who, despite his prominence, exuded humility … George was the consummate gentleman lawyer, whose legal skills and practical advice were constantly sought out, not just locally, but internationally.”
Farrell spent six months as a volunteer with the Macedonian government from 1993 to 1994, helping the new country create laws for its democratic constitution.
Farrell was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, in 1930, but his family soon moved to Floral Park, his daughter said. He attended what is now Xavier High School in Manhattan, graduating in 1948. He graduated from Fordham University in 1952 with a bachelor's in political science. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, and was deployed to Japan during the Korean War, his daughter said. After his military service, he went to Brooklyn Law School, earning his law degree in 1957.
He and his wife, Patricia, settled in Floral Park, where they raised five children. They had been married for 66 years at the time of his death, his daughter said.
In the 1960s, Farrell began his political career, serving as mayor of Floral Park Village from 1963 to 1965. A year later he was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he emerged as a major Republican figure in Nassau County and the state, according to news reports at the time. He served eight years in the Assembly, deciding not to run again in 1974.
Farrell served on many nonprofit boards, including Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Rockville Centre; Cormaria Retreat Center in Sag Harbor; and Winthrop University Hospital (now NYU Langone Winthrop), where he was chairman of the board.
He retired from Farrell Fritz in the 1990s, but still maintained an office at the firm, Creighton said. A New York Times article in 2002 noted that Farrell, though retired four years earlier, still came into a satellite law office of Farrell Fritz out east, not far from his Sag Harbor home. Said Farrell: “The retirement didn't take. I come in almost every day.”
In addition to his daughter Margaret and his wife, survivors include daughters Kathleen Farrell of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Dubuss of Floral Park; sons Joseph Farrell of Manhattan and Kevin Farrell of Rockville Centre; and six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass for Farrell was celebrated on Monday at St. Andrew's Church in Sag Harbor. He was cremated.
Correction: The Farrell Fritz law firm is based in Uniondale. An earlier version of this story had an incorrect location.
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