Laurie Farrell, a woman who lit up a room when she entered, died far too early on March 19 from complications of younger-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
Born in Washington, DC, on May 2, 1955, Laurie was adopted at birth by Hal and Willa Dean Farrell. She grew up in the Virginia suburbs, went to Thomas Jefferson High School, attended Ferrum College and was graduated in 1978 from Old Dominion University. She was tall, elegant, beautiful, ethical, confident, kind, witty, and smart-mouthed. The last of those qualities was exemplified by her first meeting with one Tom Keane in 1982 at the 930 Club, a DC punk-rock club.
Tom, out with a group of friends, had spent the evening eyeing Laurie, occasionally approaching but then timidly backing off, certain she was out of his league. Towards midnight, though, he mustered up some (liquid) courage and finally spoke to her.
“Hello,” he said. Not, admittedly, the world’s best pick-up line.
She turned, glared at him, and said, “Well, it took you long enough.”
Tom was smitten.
They were married July 21, 1984. Shortly thereafter, Laurie attended graduate school, getting her MBA in 1987 from George Washington University. She and Tom lived on Capitol Hill, moving to Massachusetts in 1989. The first of their two children, Lauren Keane-Farrell, was born a year later and the second, Bryn Keane-Farrell, a year after that.
Laurie had always thought motherhood would never be for her. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She and Tom settled in Boston’s Back Bay and through word and deed she gifted her children the same extraordinary qualities that defined her own personality. She supported Tom through his adventures, including a stint as a Boston City Councilor, and embarked on adventures of her own, including acting in local theater and serving on the board of the Boston Children’s Theater. She loved people, gardening, and animals – especially cats. Hers was a rich and active life.
Until in 2012, that is, when – only in her mid-50s – Laurie was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s. The disease moved slowly but inexorably, robbing her first of speech and then her other faculties. In June 2016 she moved to Avita of Needham, a memory care facility and, after her condition further deteriorated, to Hebrew Senior Life in Roslindale. It was there where she finally passed away.
Even living with Alzheimer’s, Laurie was unfailingly pleasant and kind, engaging her caregivers and visitors with gentle smiles and silly faces. Yet this disease robs much of a person’s essence, and her family and friends prefer to remember Laurie as the vital and strong woman who brought so much joy to their lives. Laurie is pre-deceased by her parents and, aside from her husband and children, is survived by her brother, Tim, his wife, Benita, and innumerable relatives, in-laws, and friends who were privileged to have known her.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 11:00 am at Old South Church on Copley Square in Boston’s Back Bay. The family is particularly grateful to those caregivers who treated Laurie with enormous compassion and respect during the last months of her life and in lieu of flowers asks that donations be made to Hebrew Senior Life – a caregiving and research institution – either on its website or at 1200 Center St., Roslindale, MA 02131.