Chicago Tribune obit April 4, 2005 by Gina Kim, Tribune staff reporter
Dorothy Farrell, the first and third wife of Chicago author James T. Farrell, surrounded herself with intellectuals and often slipped struggling artists $100 bills.
"I think the greatest accomplishment in her life is that she gave unconditional love to everyone," said Sandra Hochman, a poet, novelist and playwright who was 17 when Mrs. Farrell urged her to become a writer. "She was a very beautiful person to me and encouraged me as an artist. I wouldn't have been a writer without Dorothy Farrell."
Mrs. Farrell, 95, died Saturday, April 2, of a combination of ailments in Cabrini Medical Center in New York.
Born and raised in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Dorothy Butler attended the University of Chicago and was active in a dance troupe, said Edgar Branch, who wrote four books about James Farrell.
She caught the eye of the future author at a meeting of literary radicals, after which he walked her home, Branch said.
The couple decided to move to Paris in 1931 after a secret wedding in 1931, Branch said.
Mrs. Farrell gave birth to a son soon after, but the baby died a few days later.
With little income and dealing with the loss of their child, the couple threw themselves into the literary scene, meeting writers such as Ezra Pound, Branch said. The couple moved to New York when James Farrell's first book, "Young Lonigan," was published in 1932.
The couple frequented the artists colony Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and when they split up, Mrs. Farrell was hired as a managing secretary there, Branch said.
When she moved back to Manhattan, Mrs. Farrell took bit parts in plays and worked at a library at Columbia University, Branch said. After James Farrell's second marriage ended in divorce, he and Mrs. Farrell remarried in 1955.
Although they remained married until James Farrell's death in 1979, they had separated again in 1958.
Dedicated to artists and writers, Mrs. Farrell encouraged many and sent the work of her friends to publishers she knew. During one of her plays, she befriended the director Burton Snyder, who became like a son to her and was her caretaker for the last several decades.
Dorothy Farrell, the first and third wife of Chicago author James T. Farrell, surrounded herself with intellectuals and often slipped struggling artists $100 bills.
"I think the greatest accomplishment in her life is that she gave unconditional love to everyone," said Sandra Hochman, a poet, novelist and playwright who was 17 when Mrs. Farrell urged her to become a writer. "She was a very beautiful person to me and encouraged me as an artist. I wouldn't have been a writer without Dorothy Farrell."
Mrs. Farrell, 95, died Saturday, April 2, of a combination of ailments in Cabrini Medical Center in New York.
Born and raised in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Dorothy Butler attended the University of Chicago and was active in a dance troupe, said Edgar Branch, who wrote four books about James Farrell.
She caught the eye of the future author at a meeting of literary radicals, after which he walked her home, Branch said.
The couple decided to move to Paris in 1931 after a secret wedding in 1931, Branch said.
Mrs. Farrell gave birth to a son soon after, but the baby died a few days later.
With little income and dealing with the loss of their child, the couple threw themselves into the literary scene, meeting writers such as Ezra Pound, Branch said. The couple moved to New York when James Farrell's first book, "Young Lonigan," was published in 1932.
The couple frequented the artists colony Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and when they split up, Mrs. Farrell was hired as a managing secretary there, Branch said.
When she moved back to Manhattan, Mrs. Farrell took bit parts in plays and worked at a library at Columbia University, Branch said. After James Farrell's second marriage ended in divorce, he and Mrs. Farrell remarried in 1955.
Although they remained married until James Farrell's death in 1979, they had separated again in 1958.
Dedicated to artists and writers, Mrs. Farrell encouraged many and sent the work of her friends to publishers she knew. During one of her plays, she befriended the director Burton Snyder, who became like a son to her and was her caretaker for the last several decades.
Chicago Tribune obit April 4, 2005 by Gina Kim, Tribune staff reporter
Dorothy Farrell, the first and third wife of Chicago author James T. Farrell, surrounded herself with intellectuals and often slipped struggling artists $100 bills.
"I think the greatest accomplishment in her life is that she gave unconditional love to everyone," said Sandra Hochman, a poet, novelist and playwright who was 17 when Mrs. Farrell urged her to become a writer. "She was a very beautiful person to me and encouraged me as an artist. I wouldn't have been a writer without Dorothy Farrell."
Mrs. Farrell, 95, died Saturday, April 2, of a combination of ailments in Cabrini Medical Center in New York.
Born and raised in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Dorothy Butler attended the University of Chicago and was active in a dance troupe, said Edgar Branch, who wrote four books about James Farrell.
She caught the eye of the future author at a meeting of literary radicals, after which he walked her home, Branch said.
The couple decided to move to Paris in 1931 after a secret wedding in 1931, Branch said.
Mrs. Farrell gave birth to a son soon after, but the baby died a few days later.
With little income and dealing with the loss of their child, the couple threw themselves into the literary scene, meeting writers such as Ezra Pound, Branch said. The couple moved to New York when James Farrell's first book, "Young Lonigan," was published in 1932.
The couple frequented the artists colony Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and when they split up, Mrs. Farrell was hired as a managing secretary there, Branch said.
When she moved back to Manhattan, Mrs. Farrell took bit parts in plays and worked at a library at Columbia University, Branch said. After James Farrell's second marriage ended in divorce, he and Mrs. Farrell remarried in 1955.
Although they remained married until James Farrell's death in 1979, they had separated again in 1958.
Dedicated to artists and writers, Mrs. Farrell encouraged many and sent the work of her friends to publishers she knew. During one of her plays, she befriended the director Burton Snyder, who became like a son to her and was her caretaker for the last several decades.
Dorothy Farrell, the first and third wife of Chicago author James T. Farrell, surrounded herself with intellectuals and often slipped struggling artists $100 bills.
"I think the greatest accomplishment in her life is that she gave unconditional love to everyone," said Sandra Hochman, a poet, novelist and playwright who was 17 when Mrs. Farrell urged her to become a writer. "She was a very beautiful person to me and encouraged me as an artist. I wouldn't have been a writer without Dorothy Farrell."
Mrs. Farrell, 95, died Saturday, April 2, of a combination of ailments in Cabrini Medical Center in New York.
Born and raised in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Dorothy Butler attended the University of Chicago and was active in a dance troupe, said Edgar Branch, who wrote four books about James Farrell.
She caught the eye of the future author at a meeting of literary radicals, after which he walked her home, Branch said.
The couple decided to move to Paris in 1931 after a secret wedding in 1931, Branch said.
Mrs. Farrell gave birth to a son soon after, but the baby died a few days later.
With little income and dealing with the loss of their child, the couple threw themselves into the literary scene, meeting writers such as Ezra Pound, Branch said. The couple moved to New York when James Farrell's first book, "Young Lonigan," was published in 1932.
The couple frequented the artists colony Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and when they split up, Mrs. Farrell was hired as a managing secretary there, Branch said.
When she moved back to Manhattan, Mrs. Farrell took bit parts in plays and worked at a library at Columbia University, Branch said. After James Farrell's second marriage ended in divorce, he and Mrs. Farrell remarried in 1955.
Although they remained married until James Farrell's death in 1979, they had separated again in 1958.
Dedicated to artists and writers, Mrs. Farrell encouraged many and sent the work of her friends to publishers she knew. During one of her plays, she befriended the director Burton Snyder, who became like a son to her and was her caretaker for the last several decades.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
