Book of Memories for Ruth Farley "Farley" Massey

Story shared: Lasting Impact

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 09:46:15 EDT

I don't know if Farley ever knew the impact she had on me. I met her while on break from college while sitting outside a hair salon waiting for my grandmother to get her hair done at SVWC. Farley came up to me and fired question after question about who I was, what was I in college for, what were my interests, and so on. I answered every question though I did not know who she was. At the end of it, she told me to call her and gave me her number on a card. I promptly lost the card, but called the front desk and left my name and number for her. I ended up securing an internship the following year with her relative who ran a research group in a tangential field to my interest. It was an internship that drastically changed the trajectory of my career, and I wouldn't be where I am today without having connected with Farley. It just goes to show, you never know who you might end up talking to and it's worth taking the time to have real conversations with people.

We got together for tea and chit chat several other times when I visited my grandmother. I'll miss our chats and will always remeber how she went out of her way to help a random college student she found outside a hair salon!

Condolence From Sallie Ebert Grundman

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 17:02:54 EDT

Ms. Farley Massey was a member of Christ Church Adult Sunday school in 1967-8 soon after my family had moved to Winchester from Roanoke. I was new to the area, and didn’t have any friends here. I was either blessed or cursed with a questing temperament, and thought the youth Sunday school was rather silly. I wanted answers to questions like how do we know Jesus said and did what was recorded in the Bible? Why doesn’t God love everyone, like those who aren’t Christian? Why did Christians have slaves?! …you get the idea. So, being the pest I was, I insisted on attending the Adult class, where I assumed they were talking about “real stuff”. Farley Massey supported my petition, and was the most welcoming adult in that Sunday School. I’ve never forgotten her, and my life probably changed for the better because of her. Thank you Ms. Massey, for lifting me up to look around more in life. I may not have gotten all the answers right away, but I certainly have been able to climb out of the cultural box I was expected to stay in. I’ve earned three degrees, repaired bicycles, raised my kids and others’, started a successful business 46 years ago, and had a long nursing/NP career. I’ve been a Baha’i since 1974. I’ve been to Israel, Thailand, Nicaragua, England, Mexico, and Canada. You never know how a vote of confidence for a teen can be a wonderful gift, along with help from many other mentors and friends. Thank you. God bless you, surround you with His transforming Love, and accept you into the kingdoms of Light and Mystery. Sallie (Lukens) Ebert Grundman

Photo shared: Massey, Farley .jpg

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 09:14:40 EDT