Lifetime Resident Anne Farley Succumbs at 95

Anne Farley in a family photo from a few years ago.

By Ruth Lepper

Anne M. Farley, a lifelong resident of Wynola, died Feb. 5 at the age of 95.

She was the daughter of Mabel and George Ritchie, who homesteaded in the Eagle Peak area in the early 1890s. Born on Aug. 5, 1910, she was the seventh of nine children and the last surviving member of the Ritchie family.

George Ritchie was one of the first teachers at Spencer Valley School, teaching here from 1895 to the early 1900s. The school's Ritchie Hall was named for him.

Farley was married to Floyd E. Lewis from 1926 to 1943

and was the mother of four children. She was later married to Richard Farley from 1946 until his death in 1976.

Farley was the first of three generations of her family to gather wildflowers for the Julian Wildflower Show. A favorite pastime was painting on china and giving lessons on china painting at her home in Wynola.

She was a charter member of the American Legion Auxiliary, past president and honorary member of the Julian Woman's Club, and honorary board member of the Julian Pioneer Museum.

Farley was predeceased by her daughter, Laura Charlotte Lewis, in 1945, and her son, Floyd "Bud" Lewis,

in 2004.

Survivors include her son, Robert Morton "Mort" Lewis and his wife Marilyn, and daughter, Patricia "Bee" Mushet, all of Julian; nine grandchildren, and 15 great- grandchildren.

Graveside services were at Nuevo Memory Gardens in Ramona. The family suggests memorial donations for Ritchie Hall be sent to Spencer Valley School, P.O. Box 159, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070.

Photo Courtesy of David Lewis