Joseph Edward Farrington II

Joe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 28, 1921, the only child of Joseph Edward Farrington I and Barbara Blackwell (Farrington). He grew up in Sacramento, California, where he delivered newspapers as a boy and later worked at a local pharmacy. Attending Christian Brothers High School, he participated in numerous sports. Throughout high school and his first years of college, Joe also played Saxophone in a dance band, which performed in town and also on the Delta Queen’s 12-hour trips on the Sacramento River as it carried passengers between Sacramento and San Francisco.

World War II interrupted Joe’s pursuit of a college degree. Serving in the military as an airplane radio operator, he traveled across the US and abroad, and as the war came to an end he was sent to Shanghai and then Calcutta before returning home. Back in the states, he joined the USO, serving as Chairman of the organization, and he enrolled in college once again. After completing his bachelor’s degree at UCLA, Joe attended UC Berkeley, where he pursued graduate studies and was awarded Doctor of Optometry in 1951. Upon graduation, Joe established a private optometry practice in Sacramento, California, and was a devoted and caring Optometrist until he retired in 1997 at the age of 76. In the early years of his career, he made house calls for homebound patients on Saturday mornings, and later in his career he commuted to Berkeley every Tuesday morning to instruct students in the Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry.

A member of the American Optometric Association for 60 years, Joe was also a member of the California Optometric Association, where he served as President in 1970. In 1976, he was voted Optometrist of the Year, and in 1992 he was awarded the Paul Yarwood Memorial Award, the highest award bestowed by the California Optometric Association. The award is granted for “significant contributions to optometry or to the visual care of the American public.”

Joe was also a member of Valley High Country Club, where he played a round of golf twice a week with a group of longtime friends even after his 91st birthday. And he met for lunch every Tuesday with a group of retired professionals, some of whom he’d been meeting regularly for lunch since his early days as an optometrist. He also met once a month for lunch with a group of Christian Brothers High School alumni known as the “Brotherhood.” Greatly enjoying playing games, Joe also belonged to a bridge group and played dominoes every chance he got.

A devoted member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Clarksburg, Joe attended services and bible study regularly. In previous years, he attended services and taught CCD classes for the St. Charles Borromeo parish in Sacramento.

Family, friends, and former patients will miss his delightful wit. Joe was ever ready to tell an amusing story or to joke or pun and laugh until tears filled his eyes.

Joe is preceded in death by his daughter, Catherine Anne (Farrington) Cornell, and his wife, Virginia May Farrington. He is survived by his longtime companion and fiancée, Mildred Giordano; a daughter, Susan, and her husband, David; a son, Patrick, and his wife, Kathleen; grandchildren, Susan, Kimberly, Jennifer, Glenn, Michael, Nicole, Allison, and Joel; and an extended family of great-grandchildren.

A mass and reception will be held on Saturday, May 19 at 9:30 am at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Clarksburg. A private interment will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Frisbie-Warren & Carroll Mortuary.

Donations in Joe’s memory may be made to the Optometry Associates of the Benjamin Ide Wheeler Society. Send donation (check made payable to Berkeley Optometry Annual Fund) to:
Office of External Relations, School of Optometry, 302 Minor Addition, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020.

General Contact: Telephone: 510-642-1877; Email: [email protected] (http://optometry.berkeley.edu/giving/planned-giving-wheeler-society).

Or, donations in Joe’s memory may be made to Christian Brothers. Send donation (check made payable to Christian Brothers) to Christian Brothers High School, 4315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95820 (Telephone: 916-733-3600).