Remembering Pam Farrar
Remembering Pam Farrar
Community Builder, Alley Artist, Teacher, Moon Howler
By Julie Farrar and Joan Wallach
For the GPHN
Pamela Ann Martens Farrar, Park Hill resident of 50 years, passed away on May 20 surrounded by family, howling at the moon. She was the beloved wife of Jack Farrar, mother to Julie and Aaron, mother-in-law of her caregiver extraordinaire Amy, Bestamor to Jessa, Alex, Elizabeth, Ethan, and Jade, and best sister to Gerry (William) Gieseler, Christine (Greg) Gilbert and Ed (Judy) Martens.
Pam was born in Waterloo, Iowa on April 29, 1947. She was the eldest of four children born to Gerald and Maxine Martens. Her parents were both teachers, settling in Casper, Wyoming. Gerry was the YMCA director and Maxine taught junior high. Pam cultivated a love of water at the Y that kept her buoyant all her life.
Pam moved to the big city, attending the University of Denver, where she met Jack. Their love story and partnership remained strong as they grew up and older together for 56 years. Their daughter Julie was born in 1968 with a disability that thrust both young parents into the role of advocates for issues like equal access to education and community inclusion.
The Farrar family moved from Five Points to Park Hill when they were expecting son Aaron. Here they lived in their “non-curated museum” house and yard for the past 50 years.
To say Pam was an amazing teacher was an understatement; her career in Adams County, District 12, spanned 40 years. Her positive view of life and ability to see the good in everyone brightened the lives of countless students and co-workers.
Pam was a stubborn, stoic, strong, smart survivor with a big dose of silly. She was a community builder. Jack and Pam were instrumental in the evolution of the Park Hill Cooperative Bookstore and active with Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. For well over two decades Pam and Jack hosted a New Year’s Day gathering at City Park where attendees were encouraged to pen a resolution or prediction.
Pam had an artistic side and saw beauty in everything around her. Somehow her husband caught on with a frenzy, and “alley art” was born. Repurposing found objects and planting flowers in open spaces in alleys became a passionate hobby for both of them, culminating in a yearly neighborhood-wide Alley Art Contest and classes at the Art Garage.
How to describe the essence of a woman who was what Amy Farrar called the Queen of the family? Julie describes an incredible mom and
a luminary in the lives of those lucky enough to experience the light Pam shared with everyone she encountered.
The family invites fellow Park Hillians to join the remaining Farrars at a block party in the fall. People are encouraged to bring something to commemorate Pam’s life, to be installed in the alley behind the house, in the neighborhood she so loved.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, 1385 S. Colorado Blvd, Suite 610-A, Denver, 80222. (ccdconline.org, phone 303-839-1775)
Feel free to greet each dawn like Pam, standing naked on her back patio singing It’s a Beautiful Morning (off key) and howl at the moon at 8 p.m. every evening in gratitude for essential workers like her son, Aaron.