Dear Source,
Poetry is sitting and watching the devotion that Joan had as she held his hand, telling him she loved him. Strong in her own rite, fighting for his survival through her caring hand and attention. Her eyes reading him like a mirror.
Strength is seeing him struggle through many battles both in the political and health arena using his intelligence, his charm and his affable personality to win.
When I was a child, I knew Mr. Farrelly. He would drop his first wife, Betty, to our family home for her to play poqueno with my mother, Ruth Christian, one of her best friends. I knew Mr. Farrelly sitting on my porch talking long hours with my father, Judge Alphonso Christian, about politics and how to handle certain matters. Then I knew Gov. Farrelly when I worked as an assistant commissioner in his administration — tough, fiercely tenacious and committed to his party to the end
Life is like a quilt. Our lives are individual patches that tell a story but all patches interconnected into a tapestry so large that no one can ignore the relationships that bind us together. Alexander Farrelly's life represents threads that are visible in many of our individual patches that form the tapestry of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Governor Farrelly, you have contributed immeasurably to the Virgin Islands. When the recent history is written, your section will stand out for your tenacity and determination in seeking to make a contribution at the highest level of the land. You tried and tried — but you never gave up. It is a lesson we all should learn. It is a lesson that you have taught all in the social and political arena of the Virgin Islands
To the family of Gov. Alexander Farrelly: Memories keep the one you loved close to you in spirit and thought and always in your heart, today and forever. My parents, Judge Alphonso and Ruth Christian, express their deepest sympathy to you. My husband, Professor Simon B. Jones-Hendrickson, a close friend of Joan, extends his condolences to Joan and all of the family members of Governor Farrelly. We wish you bright memories of all yesterdays realizing that his love for you will never end.
Cora L.E. Christian
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