Joseph Farley

Joseph Farley, 97, died in Hamilton MT on June 28, 2012, at home with his family.
Joe was born in 1914 in Rochester NY to Joseph Allen and Rachel Wheeler Farley. He spent summers in Endeavor, Pennsylvania at his grandfather's mill town where he learned his love of hunting and fishing. He graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown PA, and from Yale University, class of 1937.
He married Louise Killam of Hamden CT in 1939 - their honeymoon was on a freighter through the Panama Canal before settling in a cabin at a logging camp in Plumas County CA. Joe served as an artillery officer in WWII, supporting the 2nd French Armored Division under General Patton. After the war he returned to the northern California coast to build a sawmill to process a family-owned stand of redwood timber.
Joe and Louise's four children were born in the east bay of California before moving to Willits in 1950 to work for Wolf Creek Timber Co. In 1960 Joe started Seaside Lumber Co. to manufacture redwood patio furniture; the company later became U.S. Leisure and Little Lake Industries. In 1967 Joe moved the family to his Bitterroot Trout Farm in Charlos Heights where he raised rainbow trout to stock private ponds. He continued to be involved in Little Lake Industries; and also served on the Board of Directors of Soper-Wheeler Co. for 47 years.
Joe was a true gentleman and a man of great integrity. He was an active and respected member of the communities in which he lived, first in northern California and later in Montana. He took great joy in the wildlife and beauty of the Bitterroot Trout Farm where he made his home. Generations of family visited every year and he enjoyed his role as family patriarch.
Joe was preceded in death by his wife Louise, parents, two sisters and a brother. He is survived by his four children, Peter, John, Rachel and Martha as well as 7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandsons.
The family plans a private memorial service at a later time. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital.