Obituary of Mary Josephine "Mary Jo" Farrell

Halifax, passed away on Friday morning, June 20, 2014 peacefully in Halifax, surrounded by her children. Mary Jo was born in De Pere, Wisconsin on Nov 27, 1941 to Roland and Frances Lee, and became older sister to Elizabeth "Liz" two years later. Mary Jo attended St. Norbert College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in 1963. She moved to Nova Scotia in 1968, where she worked as a teacher and raised three children.  After earning a Masters of Psychology from Mount St. Vincent University, she moved to Manitoba in 1983 where she worked in the school system as a psychologist for the next twenty-nine years.  Guided by her strong affinity for the sea, friends, and family, Mary Jo subsequently returned to Halifax in 2012, fulfilling a life-long retirement goal. Her love of music was, in particular, fostered through choral singing.  In Winnipeg she was devoted to the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir for which she was an avid singer and organizer.  Mary Jo’s other hobbies included playing with her grandchildren, reading mysteries, jigsaw puzzles, walking, knitting, and solving crosswords. Mary Jo was a good friend to many and a wonderful mother to her three children, Mark (Elizabeth); Tim (Alexandra) and Fran (Anders) and a loving grandmother of Jack, Ryan, Matthew and Allyson. There will be a gathering to celebrate Mary Jo's life on Saturday, June 28th from 1-4 pm at her home, which is located at #208-1314 Martello Street, Halifax. (The buzz code is #1042). In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Canadian Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.ca), or giving blood to Canadian Blood Services (http://www.blood.ca).