End of Watch for a Friend

A couple of months ago I was having routine blood work done when I ran into Terry Farley who I had not seen since my father’s funeral last November.

Terry had been sick for a while but was on some new medication and seemed to be pretty upbeat. As we sat in the waiting room we had a rather nostalgic conversation which pretty much centered on old Seaside Heights stories and those involving my father who had been friends with Terry for as long as I could remember.

It was good catching up with him and we ended up leaving at the same time so he introduced me to his daughter Karin. He was living with her and her husband in Seaside Park after spending most of his life in Toms River. I thanked him for all the nice things he said about my dad and told him we’d exchange more stories next time.

Terrence P. Farley died last weekend at the age of 72 and today and tomorrow at the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals on St. Catherine Boulevard in Toms River hundreds of people will pay their final respects and I’m sure tell stories about him. Terry was beloved by many in the law enforcement community and he was most comfortable around cops and lawyers.

He started out as an attorney in Toms River and was a partner in a well-respected firm for many years before giving that up to become First Assistant Prosecutor under Jim Holzapfel. It was in that position where he decided to spend the remainder of his working life waging war on drugs, a passion that would see him move on to high-profile state and national leadership positions.

He finished up his career back in Ocean County as Director of the Narcotics Strike Force team with the Prosecutors Office before retiring. Throughout his career Terry guided and mentored many and was a valuable resource to a law enforcement community that was his second family.

By the way, he was also a real character with a great sense of humor who could “bust chops” with the best of them. His loss is a tough one for his many friends but especially his children Rob and Karin, their spouses and six grandchildren along with his ex-wife Marilyn and longtime companion Debbie Chapter. Clearly his was a life well-lived.

And so is that of my mother Felice Williams who turns 88 today. Still rooting for her favorite New York sports teams, still buying those Crossword scratch offs hoping for a big winner and still not afraid to tell people what she thinks. If anyone tells her I disclosed her age she’ll probably rip me a new one.