Mary A. Farrelly In loving tribute to "Ma." Our beloved mother, grandmother and "GG Ma" quietly passed away on September 29t'' after 92 wonderful years filled with love for family and friends. Mary was born in 1917 to Robert and Julia Smith and was a life-long resident of San Francisco's Mission District. She was predeceased by her parents and her siblings, Juel, Lu and Bob Smith. Mary was a dear sister to Kay "Beauty" Castle, and devoted aunt to Dottie Dwyer, Cathie Anderson, Bud Castle and their children. Mary married Philip "Pat" Farrelly in 1939 and raised seven children: Philip, Robert, Patrick and Timothy Farrelly; Marianne Ellis, Theresa Vallerga and Dolores Tulkoff. With their unwavering support, Ma and Dad's children and their spouses raised 16 kids: Robert, Kathleen, Catherine, Colleen, Robert Sean, Philip, Donald, Sheila, Daniel, Timothy, Jude, Kymberly, Casey, Sean, Christopher, and Steven. In 1987 we lost Dad, but he is remembered fondly in stories Ma has passed along to 19 great-grandchildren: Nicole, Michelle, Riley, Nick, Yesenia, Dean, Corey, Jack, Nathan, Joe, Gordon, Brandon, Danny, Annie, Patsy, Alyssa, Holly, Cashlyn, Madison, baby-on-the-way Timmy, Max the dog and Philip the bird. The inventor of "A Thousand Kisses," Mary has unofficially distributed over one billion kisses to loved ones. Family, faith and friendship were pillars of Mary's life as she provided support to all who knew her, including fellow parishioners at Mission Dolores where she was a communicant and donor for 70 years. Mary embodied faith and unconditional love and these are the most important gifts she leaves us. Her legacy lives on in each of us. Friends may visit Mon., Oct 5th after 4pm and are invited to attend the Rosary at 7pm at DUGGAN'S FUNERAL SERVICE, 3434 17th Street (near Valencia), SF. The funeral mass will be celebrated on Tues., Oct. 6th at 12 noon at Mission Dolores Basilica at 16t' and Dolores Streets., SF. Internment, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. Contributions may be made to St. Anthony's Dining Room, SF.

Published in San Francisco Chronicle on October 4, 2009