Catherine Iesley Farley

She was born in 1933 in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, during a hurricane that the Associated Press described as a “whiplash gale … on the eastern seaboard [with] rain driving down in record-shattering volume.” On that stormy day, this peaceful soul was born to Frederick and Katherine Iesley.

Catherine grew up in South Amboy, New Jersey. In her youth, she spent summers on Long Beach Island working for her grandparents at the Voorhees’ boat rental and fishing business. She attended Harold G. Hoffman High School in South Amboy. Upon graduation in 1950, she worked as an executive secretary at Standard Oil in Manhattan, New York.

Catherine married her beloved husband, Vincent P. Farley Jr., in 1955. They lived in Edison, New Jersey, for 20 years, raising their family of six children (Theresa, Timothy, Mary Ellen, Thomas, Michael, and Katherine). She was active in the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at her children’s school—Our Lady of Peace in Fords. In 1975, she moved with her family to Valdosta, Georgia.

While a full-time homemaker, she attended college at night and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Middlesex College in Edison, NJ, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia.

After her children grew older, Catherine started working as a paralegal at Georgia Legal Services in Valdosta—working tirelessly on behalf of the poor and needy. She then became a nursing home ombudsman, representing and assisting nursing home residents across South Georgia. She also helped to establish the local office of Birthright of Valdosta. Through Birthright, she regularly volunteered her time and effort to provide all manner of assistance to pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Catherine was active in the Catholic Church her whole life, serving as a catechism teacher, Eucharistic minister, Rosary Altar Society member, and various other roles. She has been a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in South Amboy, Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Edison, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Valdosta, and All Saints Catholic Church in Atlanta.

Catherine was predeceased by Vincent, her husband of 40 years, her son Vincent III, her parents Frederick and Katherine, and sisters Ruth (Joseph) Bulman and Doris Iesley. She is survived by her children: Theresa (Steve Downey), Timothy (Jessica Weiss), Mary Ellen, Thomas (Rae), Michael (Davienne Monbleau), and Katherine Glennon (Dan), residing in Florida, Georgia, and Virginia. Her surviving grandchildren include Christopher, Patrick, Lauren, Sean (Glennon), Caroline, Patrick (Glennon), and Daniel. Numerous nephews and nieces also survive her.

Funeral services in Atlanta will be held at All Saints Catholic Church at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, January 17th, with arrangements by H.M. Patterson & Son.

Services in South Amboy include a visitation on Monday, January 23, 2023, from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral service will begin on Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. from The Gundrum Service, 237 Bordentown Avenue, South Amboy, followed by the 9:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary's R.C. Church. The interment will be in Resurrection Burial Park, Piscataway.

If you are planning to make a memorial donation, please consider the following—

Georgia Legal Services:

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1404661

or the Alzheimer's Association:

https://act.alz.org