Special Presentation In Memory of John Farrell
On October 13, 2009 the Town of Hamburg lost one it's most respected and loved public servants. As the Director of Senior Services for the Town of Hamburg spanning the last 30 years, John Farrell was the driving force behind one of the most respected senior service departments throughout the nation.
He started the Hamburg Senior Services Department in 1978 as a Department of one person, himself. He shared a small office (many joked that it was really a glorified closet) with the Town Recreation Department in the basement of the Town Hall.
Over time he grew the office not only in space, but also in size. The department has had hundreds of employees over the years and has two significant buildings designed for programs.
John's success in the Town of Hamburg has helped many other senior programs in Western New York, and has helped provide encouragement and a track record that many other communities were able to replicate.
Some of the ways John Farrell impacted senior programs in the Town of Hamburg include:
Helping create a van service that provides seniors in our community a safe and affordable ride. Each year more and more car accidents and fatalities involving seniors occur. Although many agencies and governments have recently looked into ways to address this problem, John provided a simple and effective solution well over 20 years ago. The town van program allows seniors to safely shop for groceries, pick up their medications, visit their doctor, or play a game of bingo. John took pride in knowing that his department was safely taking care of the people that helped make our community what it is today.
He helped create a state of the art senior center on Sowles Road that has a constant flow of activities and services available to seniors. Some of the services include 5 different Senior Clubs with hundreds of participants, pilates classes, aqua aerobics, a small pool, a complete fitness center, fitness programs, a travel club, a bridge club, a walking group, numerous educational seminars, driver education classes, yoga, lunches, and even an ethnic gourmet club. According to a Hamburg Sun Letter to the Editor that John wrote in 1989, he had been investigating senior citizen centers since 1978. After 4 years of public debate, John's proposal for a new center was defeated. Instead of giving up, John continued his efforts to create a senior center until it was successfully achieved several years later. In fact, right up to John's sudden passing, he was continuing to be a pioneer in providing unique services to seniors. John had been working with the Hamburg Community Development Corporation to create a state of the art computer center at on the Hamburg Senior Center. This center will soon open, providing seniors with free access to computers, the internet, and programming to help them learn a skill that many of them have never had a chance to learn.
John helped create a nationally recognized Adult Day Care facility. This facility has helped thousands of seniors and their families throughout the community. The program has been a life saver for participants and caregivers dealing with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, strokes, depression, and various other issues that require personal care and supervision. At the time of it's inception in 1995 it was believed to be the first Adult Day Care facility to be 100% operated by a municipality in the nation. Over a decade later, the concept of Adult Day Care is continuing to gain popularity because communities and social agencies now realize the significant economic and social benefits of these programs.
John is considered a pioneer in the field of senior services. He had an amazing track record of being the leader in providing vital programs and services to seniors.
I feel the WNY community has truly been blessed to have John create and lead an outstanding senior services department over the last 30 years. Although his sudden death is difficult to accept, his legacy and positive impact on the WNY aging community will be felt for decades to come.