John Joseph Farrell
| February 14, 1944-Jan 21, 2010 |
| This, John, is dedicated to you with all of the love and respect for you that I could exert and with the understanding that, although physically you are no longer here, your spirit and the memories of you will always be in my heart. I thank you for the time that I was privileged to share with you and I now cherish every moment that I had with you. With Love, your cousin, Don Henderson 1/26/2010 Updated 2/14/2020 The words of the Rainbow were found in some of John's belongings and I think it is a wonderful way of telling who John is and was. I offer these words, not only for your better understanding of John, but for your comfort. With Love, your cousin, Don Henderson 1/26/2010, updated 2/14/20 |
| Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve. Dream great |
| Dream great Dreams and make them come true. Do it now. |
| You are unique.In all the history of the world there was never anyone else exactly like you and in all the infinity to come there will never be another you. |
| Never affirm self limitation. |
| What you believe yourself to be, you are |
| To accomplish great things, you must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe, |
| If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost-put foundations under them. Yes you can. |
| Believing is magic. You can always better your best. |
| You don’t know what you can do until you try. |
| There is no failure except in no longer trying |
| Hazy goals produce hazy results. Clearly define your goals. Write them down, |
| Make a plan for achieving them, set a deadline, visualize the results and go |
| After them, just don’t look back unless you want to go that way. Defeat may |
| Test you: it need not stop you. If at first you don’t succeed, try another way. |
| For every obstacle there is a solution. Nothing in the world can take the |
| Place of persistence. The greatest mistake is giving up. Wishing will not bring |
| Success, but planning, persistence and a burning desire will. There is a gold |
| Mine within you from which you can extract all the necessary ingredients |
| Success is an attitude. Get yours right. It is astonishing how short a time it takes |
| For very wonderful things to happen. |
| JOHN FARRELL FEBRUARY 14, 1944-JANUARY 21, 2010 By his cousin, Don Henderson The above words were found among some of John's special earthly possessions. These words guided John throughout his business life and led him to be a successful entrepreneur in numerous areas. John's life was full of success and inordinate talent; a talent that could well be described as a rainbow of talent . As we look back on John's life we see a pattern of uniqueness; a pattern of non-conformity. John's interests were extremely varied; as his many business ownerships and hobbies testify. John was so complex that many overlooked his central being. As a young man, John began to show not only an interest, but an attribute for golf. His interests later served him well and in surprising areas. When John was about 13 he was a caddy for Ben Hogan and it was an experience that he often talked about. Later this interest and talent for golf led to his ownership of Slamming Sam's Golf Shop in Houston, Texas. In high school you would have thought him to be a “nobody”, or academically speaking at least. His main class was building and trades, golf and just plain old "goofing around" John always liked a good laugh, but underneath he was very serious. He never let you see his serious nature, but always hid behind the "clown and prankster". Later John's love for golf led him to start the first golf team at Henderson County Junior College. During his time at HCJC (now Trinity Valley Jr College) he wrote a column for The Talefeather ( The HCJC newspaper) called Kampus Komedy in which he showed his ability to express himself with humor. While at HCJC he often placed cartoons around, calling himself the Phantom Cartoonist and leaving many mysterious notes, especially for his favorite teacher, Vick Lewis. The reason John "got along" and remained friends with Vick through the years was because Vick; too, had a rainbow of interests and understood and encouraged John. John was a member of the Key Club while at HCJC and his Key club group often took on a part of John's identity and there are many stories that could be told. After John left HCJC in the mid 60's he came to Houston and began his business successes. John had earlier lived in Houston where he had been a member of the Lamar High School golf team. During this time his home course was Memorial, where he honed and improved his golf game. John was always surrounded by his family that he loved dearly. His Dad, Frank, started him in golf at an early age. His Dad was a perfectionist when it came to golf and this transferred to John. John's brother, Sam, later became not only John's business partner, but his best friend. Sam was even a better golfer than John and this came in handy when he ran the golf shop for John. We must go back in time and look at what other people influenced his life and his abilities. If John were asked, he would name his Grandfather, Oscar Henderson, whom he dedicated his book "How to Talk Texan". (John published a book "How to Talk Texan" back in the 80's, which showed John's great humor) John grew up in Malakoff, Texas and at least on holidays and summers he was spending time with his grandparents, Oscar and Grace Henderson and his cousin Don. John especially loved Thanksgiving and Christmas because it was time when all of his family were together. In the early days it was in Malakoff at his grandparents’ house, where he was surrounded by his parents, Frank and Martha, his grandparents and Don, his brother Sam and his sister Trina. His Mother, Martha was a "jack of all trades" and always strived to be #1 at whatever she did and she transferred this to John. His Grandmother, Grace was a beauty shop owner, a seamstress and a housewife and John observed her business sense. His sister, Trina, also was multi-talented as shown by her various jobs as a policeman, as well as a stewardess for an airline. John, being nine years older than Trina, always loved his "baby" sister. In the '60s the Farrells owned and operated a popular Pool Hall in Malakoff. John not only learned about "how to run" a business, but how "not to run" a business. The first thing he learned was that "where you have your business" is very important. John was also quite a pool player in his own right, as was Sam and little sister, Trina. When John first moved back to Houston, he worked for a collection agency and his training was just beginning. Later, he and his cousin, Don worked for Great Western Investment Corporation, selling land. John later moved to Austin and continued for work for Great Western and Homer Stalarow. In the early 70's, John had learned how to close deals and be a salesman, which he was very good. He went to work for a swimming pool company, selling pools. The owner really liked John and gave him more and more duties and responsibilities. Eventually John started his own pool company called Nassau Pools. John was named Who's Who in the state of Texas in 1976 for his outstanding business work with Nassau Pools. John later sold his pool business in order help his brother get into a type of business that he could run. John, Sam and his mother, Martha ran a Pawn Shop on Richmond Blvd in Houston. After some success there, he sold that Pawn Shop and opened one in Richmond, Texas. John sold this shop and then opened up a Golf Shop called "Slamming' Sam's" at the corner of Westheimer and hwy. 6 in Houston, where he sold used clubs, repaired clubs and taught golf lessons. His brother, Sam and sometimes his Mother ran the shop which became successful enough that John decided to sell it. John's forte was always starting a business and stepping aside and letting someone else run it. He was an "idea" person who became bored with the "running part". He always wanted to improve and change to something else, which he did. Although there plenty of opportunities to marry and settle down, John remained a bachelor and very independent. By this time, John began to suffer from debilitating arthritis in his hands and feet in the late 80's and early 90's. He also experienced severe psoriasis on his body and this caused him a lot of pain. Not long after this, he decided to retire from his business grind. His hobbies became more important in his life and he moved to the Livingston, Texas area, where he and Sam last lived. His hobby interest of Indian Arrowheads, led he and Sam to journey to Arizona, where they lived for a while, until they moved permanently to the Livingston area. John and Sam camped out in Arizona and parts of Texas, while searching for arrowheads. Golf was still of interest, but it was now secondary. John and Sam also panned for gold while in Arizona and related that, though it was fun, it was also hard work. John always said that he planned for everything, except getting sick. In the late 80's or early ninety's, John suffered a heart attack and need a stint. This, along with his arthritis and psoriasis caused him to seek disability. He was only in his 50's but his health prevented him from working. In the meantime, Sam needed a heart by-pass after suffering a heart attack. John's funds, which at one time were sufficient, began to dissipate quickly. John's father, Frank died in '92 and John grieved about this because he had to go to Olney to take care of his dad’s affairs. Sam passed away in '99 and his mother, Martha, died shortly after, leaving Trina the only one remaining in his immediate family other than his cousin, Don. Because of the hurricane in September of 2008, John left his home in Waterwood because Ike knocked out his electricity. He stayed in Malakoff with a friend, Don Lewis for 9 days, left for home and had a one car accident, September 24, 2008. From here he was taken to Athens, then air - lifted to Tyler with a brain injury and later transferred to a nursing home in Tyler. John's brain injury, sustained during the wreck, literally destroyed his life. He still remembered things that happened 40 years ago, but could not remember 5 minutes ago. John was later transferred to Houston where he steadily became worse after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. John's independence and John's will remained, but the John that we knew and loved had disappeared. He was still, John, but not completely. John, may God rest your weary body. |
| Nothing will come of nothing. If you don’t go out on a limb You’re never going to get the fruit |
| Now, show us the colors of your rainbow. |
LINKS TO YOUTUBE VIDEO SALUTING JOHN
