Mimi Farrelly-Hansen

Mimi (aka Marie) Farrelly-Hansen, age 79, died October 7, 2025 at Balfour Senior Living in Longmont after a long illness of Parkinson’s with dementia. Mimi was born on September 26, 1946 in New York City, the daughter of Richard L. and Mary Catherine Ritchie Farrelly. She grew up in rural New Jersey, near Mendham and Bernardsville. She is survived by her husband, Paul A. Hansen, and one daughter,

Anjora (Jori) (Andy Alcindor) of San Diego, CA; three stepchildren: David Hansen (Wilma) of Fruita, CO; Bruce Hansen (Carrie), of Ft Collins, CO; Kirsten Solomon (Bill) of Mystic CT; and two of seven siblings, Lisa O’Brien of Waite Hill, Ohio; and Louis C.R Farrelly (Dodie) of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; and many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She married Paul Hansen on May 10, 1980 and moved from Denver to Longmont, where she has since resided.

She graduated high school from the Convent of the Sacred Heart School, Noroton, CT and earned a BA in Art History at Smith College, Northampton, MA in 1968. She earned a Master of Early Childhood Education from Columbia University, New York in 1973, and a Master of Art Therapy in 1985 from Vermont College, Norwich University, Montpelier, VT.

A teacher, artist, writer and poet throughout her life, Mimi taught elementary at The Town School, NYC; NY Public Schools, Harlem, Manhattan; Colorado Academy, Denver, CO, and the Children’s Museum of Denver. This included a large mural project at United Bank of Denver in 1979. She taught Art Therapy at CU Denver, Boulder Graduate School, and founded and taught in the graduate Art Therapy department at Naropa University, Boulder, CO. She co-founded the Old Firehouse Art Center in Longmont. As a fine artist, she created a large body of art work, paintings and sculpture that are held in private collections in the US and Japan. In her later years, she moved into abstract oil painting, with one of her paintings being selected by the director of the Denver Art Museum for a special exhibition in 2015.

Her publications include Spirituality and Art Therapy, (London); Portrait of the Artist as Poet, (Chicago). She was valued contributor to the American Art Therapy Assn., and was much loved by her graduate students. She was known and valued for her spirit and contributions to the arts community in Longmont. Her career as a teacher and artist was curtailed by the onset of Parkinson’s in 2017, and subsequent development of dementia in 2020 and moving to Balfour Senior Living in 2021.

Mimi was deeply connected to nature and nurtured her spirit with daily walks in the fields around her home, sailing trips in the Caribbean, and camping in the Rocky Mountains. Her recent paintings reflect her spiritual journey and her mystical connection to the inner and outer realms of the spirit. They embody a legacy to inspire present and future generations.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Farrelly-Hansen Donor Advised Fund at the Longmont Community foundation, from which grants are made to local charities and arts organizations. Go to: www.longmontfoundation.org and click on Donate to go to the fund.

A Memorial Service will be held for Mimi Farrelly-Hansen on November 8, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the Congregational Church at 1500 9th Ave, Longmont, CO.