Obituary for Geraldine Ann Farrier (Scieszka)
Geraldine “Jerry” Ann Farrier, born on April 11, 1937 to Ann and Louis Scieszka, was a spitfire of a woman who always had a witty comment at the ready and never backed down from a game of cards. She was a hard worker, loved her family and their traditions more than anything, and could always be counted on if you needed someone to talk to. She was blunt in her thoughts and opinions, but was also a pillar of strength and humor. On December 26th, after celebrating Christmas with those she loved, Jerry lost her valiant battle against cancer and passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Jerry was the oldest child of three, with two younger brothers, (the late) Lou and Stanley “Stas” Scieszka. Her mother, Ann, was the oldest of twelve children, so Jerry also grew up with some of her aunts and uncles; her Aunt Dot (Robertson), Aunt Helen (Nering), and Aunt Theresa (Podowski) were three of her best friends. Being a part of a large and close-knit Polish family meant frequent parties or suppers with houses and backyards filled to the brim. They were loud, and boisterous, and some of Jerry’s fondest memories.
Jerry’s youth was spent in Baltimore City working at a beauty parlor on North Charles Street and taking care of her brothers. But between her responsibilities, Jerry’s favorite thing to do was to dance. Any place could be a dancefloor for Jerry, whether it was on the pier in the Fells Point among the tugboats, or at parties for soldiers returning home. She would save her weekly wages to buy a new pair of what she called spaghetti sandals which had straps that would twist and tie up her legs. They were a thin shoe, and by the end of the month, Jerry would have danced right through the soles. And so, she would buy another pair, until she had to repeat the process again a few weeks later.
No matter her age, Jerry was never one to pass up an adventure or a fun time. In the ‘50s, Jerry was lucky enough to meet Elvis before he became a big name. She, Aunt Dot, and Aunt Helen saw him perform at a small nightclub and they were able to hang around after the show and meet him.
While in school, one of her jobs was to wash the dishes in the kitchen. However, Jerry and her friends would often sneak out for a smoke break; when the nuns would come looking for them, they would have to run around the building and sneak in through another entrance. Funnily enough, Jerry also wanted to be a nun at one point.
Although she never attended a monastery, Jerry was no stranger to good deeds. For example, she would spend her school lunch breaks at home, and along her walk she would ask other kids to tag along and join her for a meal.
In 1957, Jerry met Walter “Walt” Charles Farrier at a wedding. Their connection was almost instantaneous, and the two married a year later on November 29th, 1958 at St. Patrick’s Church in Baltimore, with Aunt Dot being one of Jerry’s bridesmaids. Their wedding photo, a beautiful shot of them kissing in the car they rode off in, appeared in an issue of Life magazine.
Soon thereafter, their family would begin to grow with the birth of their daughters Ann Kimberly “Kim” (Steel) and Denise Ann (McCall), sons Walter Richard “Rick” and (the late) Marshall Farrier, and foster children, Shirley, Peter, Charles, David, and Paul. In 1961, Jerry and her family moved into their new house, where they would live for the next fifty-nine years. For Jerry it would be one of her quieter prides, owning this house, and she would plant roses, azaleas, and snowball bushes that would maintain over the decades, and hang new curtains and place new rugs each season.
Most importantly, Jerry’s home came with the best neighbors: her brother Stas, his wife Judi (Nixon), and their two kids, Donna and David. During the summers, the “Arizona Crew” of Jerry’s other brother Lou and his three daughters, Daphne, Sabrina, and Christine, would visit and spend the days in their above-ground pool. Jerry and her family would also camp at Frontier Town with Walt’s sister Joan and her daughters Diane, Cindy, and Jackie, and attend parties at Aunt Stella and Uncle Lloyd Mockabee’s summer home in Bowleys Quarters, along with the rest of the Szymanik family.
Once the kids became older, Jerry started working the night shift at the Maryland Cup Corporation with her Aunt Theresa. After a few years, Jerry started a new job at General Motors with Walt’s best friend and cousin, Don Renninger. One of her funniest moments took place while they were working on the assembly lines building cars. Her station was just after the trunks were installed but before they were inspected by one of her friends. So, naturally, Jerry had the hilarious idea to hide in one of the trunks, wait, and then jump out and scare her friend. Who happened to also be one of the managers.
Jerry was “off” from work for a week after that.
When Jerry was enjoying planned vacations, she frequently took trips to visit Stas and Judi in Salisbury and loved going to Ocean City more than anything. She could spend all day on the beach and it still wouldn’t be long enough. Jerry and her friends and family would also be a constant presence at the local duckpin bowling alleys, or Jerry, Walt, Aunt Dot and her husband Bob would drive up to Coney Island. One year during her trip to New York, her daughter Denise tagged along. Denise had fun until suddenly they were at a Chippendale show.
Through the years, Jerry’s spirit and wicked sense of humor only continued to grow. She owned a ‘78 Camaro that her kids often begged her to let them drive to school, colored her hair every color other than jet black and green, and rarely lost a game of 500 Rummy – mostly because she cheated like it was nobody’s business.
She made sure her sass and special brand of humor was passed on when Jerry became known as “mom-mom” to grandchildren Jessica Lynn (married to AJ Kafka) and Christopher Thomas Steel (married to Amber (Sherinsky)) (born to Kim and Thomas Steel), and Tessa Marie and Madison Teresa McCall (born to Denise and Timothy McCall), and her two great-grandsons, Grayson Steel and Quad Kafka. Jerry would frequently babysit her grandkids, and her visits were full of card games and classic shows like Card Sharks, $10,000 Pyramid, and Fear Factor (even if she would have to leave the room during any eating challenges). Jerry also loved visits from her great-grandsons and would take them to see the goats down the road.
With her family growing, Jerry also installed many holiday traditions. On Easter, each family member would have a decorated hard-boiled egg and an objective to be the last egg standing. One by one, each family member would hit their egg “butt” to another’s until it broke, and then would try again with the “tip,” until only one intact egg was left. On Christmas Eve, Jerry and Walt would give the grandkids a new pair of pajamas, which they would wear that night to ensure Santa would come and then during Christmas morning, which always had a menu of pierogies.
One year, Jerry and Walt wanted to start a new Christmas tradition: roasting marshmallows. They told everyone they bought a firepit for the backyard, had the grandkids and their significant bundle up and stand in a line. Once they were in their coats, scarves, hats, and gloves standing in the family room, Jerry came down the line. She gave each grandkid a toothpick, then a mini marshmallow, and told them to walk down the hall toward the back door. At the end of the hallway stood Walt, holding a candle.
Jerry would also take many trips out to Arizona to stay with her family. She loved all of her great-nieces and nephews, Josh, Ashlie, Tori, Hannah, Autumn, Julie, Jocelyn, and Garret, and went on many adventures with them. She would also travel to Virginia to stay with Stas, Judi, Donna, her husband Bob, and their children (the late) Mickey and Olivia. They would make homemade pierogies and ham, cabbage, and potatoes, go on RV trips, attend cheer competitions, and of course, play lots and lots of cards.
Jerry loved talking on the phone and getting her toenails painted. One of her favorite stores was Boscov’s, even if she could never pronounce the name correctly, and she loved eating at Cracker Barrel or wherever served a good rack of ribs. She made sure to tell everyone her favorite joke – the one about the duck – and the only thing faster than her witty comments was her left-handed smack.
Jerry lived life to the fullest, even in the face of adversity and strife. On November 21st, 2020, just days before their 62nd wedding anniversary, Walt passed away after fighting courageously against COVID-19. A few days later, Jerry was diagnosed with small cell cancer and began chemo. Jerry spent her last weeks at home with her family taking amazing care of her. Through it all, in a true testament to her spirit and resilience, Jerry still found moments of joy and laughter.
Jerry made it to celebrate her favorite day, surrounded by those who love her more than anything. The morning after Christmas, Jerry passed peacefully in her sleep.
She taught everyone she met how to love fiercely, laugh harder, and that family is the most important thing someone can be lucky enough to have. Jerry will be greatly missed by everyone who loved her.
In lieu of flowers, the family of Jerry kindly asks for donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Jerry was the oldest child of three, with two younger brothers, (the late) Lou and Stanley “Stas” Scieszka. Her mother, Ann, was the oldest of twelve children, so Jerry also grew up with some of her aunts and uncles; her Aunt Dot (Robertson), Aunt Helen (Nering), and Aunt Theresa (Podowski) were three of her best friends. Being a part of a large and close-knit Polish family meant frequent parties or suppers with houses and backyards filled to the brim. They were loud, and boisterous, and some of Jerry’s fondest memories.
Jerry’s youth was spent in Baltimore City working at a beauty parlor on North Charles Street and taking care of her brothers. But between her responsibilities, Jerry’s favorite thing to do was to dance. Any place could be a dancefloor for Jerry, whether it was on the pier in the Fells Point among the tugboats, or at parties for soldiers returning home. She would save her weekly wages to buy a new pair of what she called spaghetti sandals which had straps that would twist and tie up her legs. They were a thin shoe, and by the end of the month, Jerry would have danced right through the soles. And so, she would buy another pair, until she had to repeat the process again a few weeks later.
No matter her age, Jerry was never one to pass up an adventure or a fun time. In the ‘50s, Jerry was lucky enough to meet Elvis before he became a big name. She, Aunt Dot, and Aunt Helen saw him perform at a small nightclub and they were able to hang around after the show and meet him.
While in school, one of her jobs was to wash the dishes in the kitchen. However, Jerry and her friends would often sneak out for a smoke break; when the nuns would come looking for them, they would have to run around the building and sneak in through another entrance. Funnily enough, Jerry also wanted to be a nun at one point.
Although she never attended a monastery, Jerry was no stranger to good deeds. For example, she would spend her school lunch breaks at home, and along her walk she would ask other kids to tag along and join her for a meal.
In 1957, Jerry met Walter “Walt” Charles Farrier at a wedding. Their connection was almost instantaneous, and the two married a year later on November 29th, 1958 at St. Patrick’s Church in Baltimore, with Aunt Dot being one of Jerry’s bridesmaids. Their wedding photo, a beautiful shot of them kissing in the car they rode off in, appeared in an issue of Life magazine.
Soon thereafter, their family would begin to grow with the birth of their daughters Ann Kimberly “Kim” (Steel) and Denise Ann (McCall), sons Walter Richard “Rick” and (the late) Marshall Farrier, and foster children, Shirley, Peter, Charles, David, and Paul. In 1961, Jerry and her family moved into their new house, where they would live for the next fifty-nine years. For Jerry it would be one of her quieter prides, owning this house, and she would plant roses, azaleas, and snowball bushes that would maintain over the decades, and hang new curtains and place new rugs each season.
Most importantly, Jerry’s home came with the best neighbors: her brother Stas, his wife Judi (Nixon), and their two kids, Donna and David. During the summers, the “Arizona Crew” of Jerry’s other brother Lou and his three daughters, Daphne, Sabrina, and Christine, would visit and spend the days in their above-ground pool. Jerry and her family would also camp at Frontier Town with Walt’s sister Joan and her daughters Diane, Cindy, and Jackie, and attend parties at Aunt Stella and Uncle Lloyd Mockabee’s summer home in Bowleys Quarters, along with the rest of the Szymanik family.
Once the kids became older, Jerry started working the night shift at the Maryland Cup Corporation with her Aunt Theresa. After a few years, Jerry started a new job at General Motors with Walt’s best friend and cousin, Don Renninger. One of her funniest moments took place while they were working on the assembly lines building cars. Her station was just after the trunks were installed but before they were inspected by one of her friends. So, naturally, Jerry had the hilarious idea to hide in one of the trunks, wait, and then jump out and scare her friend. Who happened to also be one of the managers.
Jerry was “off” from work for a week after that.
When Jerry was enjoying planned vacations, she frequently took trips to visit Stas and Judi in Salisbury and loved going to Ocean City more than anything. She could spend all day on the beach and it still wouldn’t be long enough. Jerry and her friends and family would also be a constant presence at the local duckpin bowling alleys, or Jerry, Walt, Aunt Dot and her husband Bob would drive up to Coney Island. One year during her trip to New York, her daughter Denise tagged along. Denise had fun until suddenly they were at a Chippendale show.
Through the years, Jerry’s spirit and wicked sense of humor only continued to grow. She owned a ‘78 Camaro that her kids often begged her to let them drive to school, colored her hair every color other than jet black and green, and rarely lost a game of 500 Rummy – mostly because she cheated like it was nobody’s business.
She made sure her sass and special brand of humor was passed on when Jerry became known as “mom-mom” to grandchildren Jessica Lynn (married to AJ Kafka) and Christopher Thomas Steel (married to Amber (Sherinsky)) (born to Kim and Thomas Steel), and Tessa Marie and Madison Teresa McCall (born to Denise and Timothy McCall), and her two great-grandsons, Grayson Steel and Quad Kafka. Jerry would frequently babysit her grandkids, and her visits were full of card games and classic shows like Card Sharks, $10,000 Pyramid, and Fear Factor (even if she would have to leave the room during any eating challenges). Jerry also loved visits from her great-grandsons and would take them to see the goats down the road.
With her family growing, Jerry also installed many holiday traditions. On Easter, each family member would have a decorated hard-boiled egg and an objective to be the last egg standing. One by one, each family member would hit their egg “butt” to another’s until it broke, and then would try again with the “tip,” until only one intact egg was left. On Christmas Eve, Jerry and Walt would give the grandkids a new pair of pajamas, which they would wear that night to ensure Santa would come and then during Christmas morning, which always had a menu of pierogies.
One year, Jerry and Walt wanted to start a new Christmas tradition: roasting marshmallows. They told everyone they bought a firepit for the backyard, had the grandkids and their significant bundle up and stand in a line. Once they were in their coats, scarves, hats, and gloves standing in the family room, Jerry came down the line. She gave each grandkid a toothpick, then a mini marshmallow, and told them to walk down the hall toward the back door. At the end of the hallway stood Walt, holding a candle.
Jerry would also take many trips out to Arizona to stay with her family. She loved all of her great-nieces and nephews, Josh, Ashlie, Tori, Hannah, Autumn, Julie, Jocelyn, and Garret, and went on many adventures with them. She would also travel to Virginia to stay with Stas, Judi, Donna, her husband Bob, and their children (the late) Mickey and Olivia. They would make homemade pierogies and ham, cabbage, and potatoes, go on RV trips, attend cheer competitions, and of course, play lots and lots of cards.
Jerry loved talking on the phone and getting her toenails painted. One of her favorite stores was Boscov’s, even if she could never pronounce the name correctly, and she loved eating at Cracker Barrel or wherever served a good rack of ribs. She made sure to tell everyone her favorite joke – the one about the duck – and the only thing faster than her witty comments was her left-handed smack.
Jerry lived life to the fullest, even in the face of adversity and strife. On November 21st, 2020, just days before their 62nd wedding anniversary, Walt passed away after fighting courageously against COVID-19. A few days later, Jerry was diagnosed with small cell cancer and began chemo. Jerry spent her last weeks at home with her family taking amazing care of her. Through it all, in a true testament to her spirit and resilience, Jerry still found moments of joy and laughter.
Jerry made it to celebrate her favorite day, surrounded by those who love her more than anything. The morning after Christmas, Jerry passed peacefully in her sleep.
She taught everyone she met how to love fiercely, laugh harder, and that family is the most important thing someone can be lucky enough to have. Jerry will be greatly missed by everyone who loved her.
In lieu of flowers, the family of Jerry kindly asks for donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.