Geraldine Nancy Begin Farley, 85, passed away on July 10, 2018, at home in Topsham.

She was married to William O. Farley for 49 years until his death in 2003, and was the daughter of the late Joseph and Florence Begin.

She was also pre-deceased by a sister, Beverly Begin Bergeron.

Gerry was born in Waterville but spent a joyful youth in Bingham, a town so small it didn’t have numbered houses. By the time she graduated high school, Gerry’s sterling academic record was matched only by her outstanding performance on the softball diamond, where she was dubbed Bingham’s Home Run Queen. Between ballgames and studying, she and her sisters also found time to sing and perform as The Begin Sisters on local radio.

Gerry later graduated from Husson College with an executive secretary degree. As a USO girl she met and fell in love with her future husband Bill Farley.

A young married couple, they worked as a team to get Bill through school at the University of Maine while raising two young sons. By 1958, Bill lured her to his home state of New Jersey where they added two more children and enjoyed a comfortable life before retiring back to Maine in 1991.

Along the way, Gerry built a career as Chief Records Clerk for the South Brunswick Police Department, a position she openly threatened to use against her children if they ever acted up. She was an avid quilter, seamstress, church goer and event organizer, and an eternal optimist.

Her sense of adventure took her from the ski slopes of Maine in her youth, to international travel with her children later in life, and it opened the door to years of new love and happiness with long-time companion Bill OBrien.

Gerry truly enjoyed life’s simplest moments and pleasures — a sunset over her beloved Embden Pond, coffee or Pat’s Pizza outings with friends, a good bargain (never full price!), one glass of wine, family singalongs, or the cooing of a newborn in her arms.

The unending love she showered on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was the stuff of legend. No special occasion was ever forgotten. No achievement was anything less than absolutely wonderful. If you were a child of a certain age — family or not — she was your Grammy.

Gerry will be remembered for her generosity of spirit, her laughter, her self-deprecating sense of humor, her love of family, and sunny disposition.

She is survived and already missed by three siblings and their spouses: Shirley and Leo Gilbert of Oakland; Dick and Pat Begin of Oakland; and David and Jackie Poisson of Scottsville, VA; four children and their spouses: Chris and Mary Ann Farley of Milltown, NJ; Tim and Dianne Farley of Jonesport; Brian Farley and Anne McSorley of Atlanta, GA, and Beth Farley of Waterville. She had eight grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren whom she adored, and more friends and adopted family than can possibly be counted here.

A memorial Mass will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, July 28 at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 132 McKeen St., Brunswick, ME.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org.

A note of condolence may be left for the family at www.brackettfuneralhome.c om.