Neighbors 89

in such high respect. He also sang in the church choir over these same years. He was not a great singer but had a unique voice for sure with a reasonable command of Latin. We always got a kick out of hearing him sing in church. He was very much a home boy, moving among the near neighbors for work and in earlier times to various places to play at house dances. His visits to Charlottetown were rare at best and non existent for the last twenty-five years of his life.

Among Joe’s relatives was a brother Pat, a school teacher who raised a large family in St. George’s. These visited from time to time for great conversations and lively music since Pat was also a good fiddler. His sister Minnie was married and lived in New York but spent frequent summer vacations at the old home. Another brother, John, lived with his large family in Boston. One beautiful August evening in 1948 a car drove slowly up to our house and an elderly passenger in the back seat inquired where Farrell lived. The man was this brother John, home from Boston for the first time in over forty years. It was a joyous reunion for sure.

Joe received the old-age pension for a couple of years which was a boost for him at that time of life, although he did not make a big splash with the newly-found cash. He took sick in the winter of 1952 and never recovered. He died in his kitchen that August at the age of 73. The wake was held at our house and the funeral took place Sunday morning before Mass. Many came to Joe’s wake and funeral to honor one who was such a stable part of Iona for so long. His death which removed the Farrell name from the community was deeply felt since his unfailing presence and grasp of events, dates and other anecdotes were indeed special. Although limited in travel he kept remarkably abreast of world events and was a truly interesting conver- sationalist and wit. The day after his funeral we sadly boarded up the windows of the old house and within months I was honored to purchase that old homestead which had been put up for tender. The price was $500.00.