Joseph D. Farrelly: Love Notes to
His Queen
Joseph
D. Farrelly met Stacey Goldberg when she was 17 years
old. It was love at first sight for Captain Farrelly,
then 21. But he waited nearly a month before he asked her
out on a date.
"He wouldn't ask me out until after my birthday" when
she would turn 18, said Mrs. Farrelly, who married
Captain Farrelly two and a half years later. "That's the
kind of guy he was."
Captain Farrelly turned out to be the kind of
chivalrous husband who always opened doors, washed the
dishes after dinner and started his wife's car to make
sure it was warm when she got inside. A 22-year veteran
of the New York City Fire Department, Captain Farrelly,
of Engine Company 4, also left Mrs. Farrelly love notes
nearly every day, on her pillow or in her car.
"Joe made it a point to make her happy," said Marge
Neefus, a longtime friend of the couple. "I used to tease
her all the time and call her the queen. He treated her
that way. He dedicated his life to making her happy."
Though the couple would eventually have a family of
their own, for 10 years they served as foster parents to
crack-addicted babies. Captain Farrelly, who was 47 when
he died, always took the night shift.
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