Obituary of Marilyn Louise Farr

Marilyn Louise (Knox) Farr passed away at her home, with her children by her side on Saturday evening February 8, 2020. Marilyn would have celebrated her 90th birthday in November. Marilyn was born in Fall River. She was the daughter of the late Elsie Marie (Davis) Knox. Marilyn was raised and educated in Cambridge. When she was in elementary school, Marilyn would meet a young man named Roy “Fred” Farr. They started dating in high school and married in 1947. They raised their family in Cambridge and Somerville. Fred passed away in 1979 when Marilyn was just 49 years old. She worked hard to provide for her family. She worked as an administrative assistant at M & M Transportation and ended her career at Boston Centerless in Malden. Marilyn loved to get all dressed up and go dancing. It was while out dancing, with some of her friends, that she would meet Ralph DiTucci. Marilyn and Ralph married in 1992. Marilyn enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing. She made baby clothing, scarfs, blankets and afghans. Her hand-made mittens were her specialty. Marilyn was a fabulous cook. She could look at a recipe, tweak it, and make it into her own specialty. She had a great sense of adventure and traveled throughout the world with her husband, family and her friends. She visited Maine, Texas, Florida, Italy, England, Bermuda, Aruba, Martha’s Vineyard and California. She always looked forward to visiting her daughter Alison in Oklahoma and her son Michael in Arizona. Marilyn was a quiet and private woman but had a great sense of humor. Marilyn will be remembered as a strong woman whose family was the center of her life. Marilyn was the beloved wife of the late Ralph S. DiTucci, Sr. & the late Roy F. Farr. Loving mother of Michael Farr & his wife Charlotte of AZ, Alison Gadberry & her husband Frank of OK, Marianne McCarthy & her late husband Gerard of Billerica, Torsten Michael Raber & his companion Jen Thulin of FL, Sonja Ferraguto & her husband Thomas of Salisbury, Ralph DiTucci, Jr.& his wife Alyson of Dracut, Joseph DiTucci of Tewksbury. Marilyn is predeceased by her beloved son Kevin Farr. Proud grandmother of Lee & Christopher Farr, Laura Salafia, David, Alicia & Ryan Basteri, Joseph, Matthew & Kaitlyn McCarthy, Sarah Farr, Miles Raber, Anthony, Maria & Angela Ferraguto and Felicia Chute. Also survived by 11 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Sister of the late Gloria Gates & her husband Howard, Ralph Theodore Knox, Jr. & his wife Orenthia, Caroline Bova & her husband Carmen, William Cooper, Patricia Savignano, Marion Chaulk, James Cooper, Jean Raymond, Joan Vacca and Richard Cooper. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128/95 Woburn side) on Tuesday, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Concluding with Funeral Services at 1 p.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Marilyn’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society, 3 Speen St., Suite 250, Framingham, MA 01701 Family Remembrance by Michael How does one eulogize your Mom? I thought long and hard about this and how to do it. I thought about talking about her life and her history and ultimately decided that everyone that would be here was already very familiar with that…otherwise you all wouldn’t be here. It also became apparent that many of you knew her before I did and could probably do a better job at this because you knew her longer. So, the problem was still there. I then decided the best approach would be to tell you how she shaped and molded me, and my sister’s lives. How did she shape me? How did she affect how I looked at life, my thoughts, my feelings, my decision-making and therefore, ultimately how I approach others and life. How did she do this? Well, I guess a little history. Mom didn’t have what most would think of as a great childhood. I don’t want to dwell on all the specifics of this, but it was enough to have a life-long effect on her. While she retained all this internally, it was how she handed it externally and her subsequent life that taught me what is important. Because It made her stronger and in thinking about it now, that is the single most life skill that has shown through to me now. Be strong! The second strength that always shined through was her love of family. Not just her love of her nuclear family, but to all her extended family as well. This is shown today by all those who are here and all those who have expressed their love for her. When she married my Dad, who also had a tough childhood she inherited a close-knit loving family, in the Coopers. This showed through in how they treated my Dad and called my Dad, Brother, even to this day. Even though he was not their biological son, they brought my Dad up as their own and even called my Mom sister. They included my Mom and Dad and all of us in their family occasions. There was never any occasion without them all being there. This simple fact gave my Mom strength and love, which guided her throughout her life. This extended family unit also included her brother and sister the Knox’s and Gates, and their wonderful families that enriched both Mum’s and our lives. This family centric love of life was only enhanced with the entrance into her life and ours, of Ralph, known universally by all of our children as Papa Ralph. With this giant of a man came more family for her to love and to love her back. Ralph’s extended (or should I say extensive) family was all inclusive to Mum, They warmed her heart and made her family. There was therefore much more to love, even to this day. Now she had another family to give to and receive love and warmth from. Like the Coopers, Gates and Knox’s this new extended family unit gave her love for which we will always be eternally grateful for. But back to how she affected my life. From her strong example, I learned to love, especially the love of family. Which I can see today has been handed down to my children and how they see family. While I’m sure some of this is a learned behavior, I am also sure it is genetically passed down by the Matriarchal genes. From my Mom. This I can feel in my blood. She also taught us basic morals and ethics and how to behave. Believe me when I say she was a disciplinarian, but this was usually only manifested by our crossing the line on what she believed, and what we learned to be the wrong side of the line. I clearly remember the time we were in the Woolworths store in Davis Sq and I was misbehaving and probably whinning. She very quietly reached down with her nails and dug them into the soft under side of my are and said very quietly, “ don’t you dare make even one sound” this as she danced me out of the store on my tip toes. These basic life lessons are something that I carry with me everyday. This I am proud of. These shaped my life and are the one’s that I try to pass down to others. I turned these lessons into a course on “moral and ethics ” that I taught across the nation for two of the companies that I worked for . I also see these daily in my children and how they see life. And this all began with a strong, warm, family centered woman. Bye Mum