Barbara Louise Farell passed away peacefully on June 2, 2023, after a brief illness.
Barb was born on December 21, 1934, in Lafayette, Indiana, daughter of the late Jacob and Carrie Wagner (nee Turner).
A graduate of Lafayette Jefferson High School, Barb was active in the school’s shows, singing, dancing and making her own costumes. She attended Purdue University, where she fell in love with her chemistry tutor, Jack. Barb and Jack were married in Lafayette in 1956 and moved to Wilmington, Delaware in August of that year for Jack’s first job as a Chemical Engineer with DuPont. In 1962, they relocated to Parkersburg, where Barb was active in her children’s year-round swimming activities, helping run the kitchen for the Parkersburg Sharks and MOVSA swim meets. She was also a valued member for more than 60 years of the First Presbyterian Church, running church garage sales for over 20 years and hosting her annual Christmas party at her home for the women’s Circle.
A dedicated wife and mother, Barb dearly loved her family and enjoyed gardening, sewing, travelling to swim meets and camping in the family’s RV, tracing her family’s genealogy with Jack, hosting festive Christmas activities for family and friends in their Vienna home and travelling to the beach every year with her entire family.
She is survived by her sons, Greg (Suzetta) of Radford, VA; Andy (Teresa) of Chapin, SC; daughter, Terri Jankowski (David) of Broadview Heights, OH; her 8 grandchildren: Eric, Megan, Jake, Adam, Zach, Ali, Emma, and Alexis, and her great-grandson, Ayden. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Jack, her parents and sister, Marty.
The family will have a celebration of Barbara’s life at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 24 at the First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Founders Trust of the First Presbyterian Church of Parkersburg in memory of Barbara Farell, 1341 Juliana St, Parkersburg, WV 26101.
