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George C. Farrell
November 9, 1956 - May 1, 2022


U.S. Veteran  

Lt. Col. George C. Farrell, USAF (Ret.), 65, of Shavertown died on Sunday, May 1, 2022. The lifelong fisherman had just returned from a joyful morning engaging in one of his deepest passions when he suffered a heart attack at his family cabin in Hawley.

Born November 9, 1956 in Wilkes-Barre, George was the son of George R. and Dolores Herden Farrell, and stepmother Rosemary Burke Farrell.

Surviving are his wife of 36 years, Donna Dunleavy Farrell; sons, Dr. Patrick Farrell (Jennifer), St. Louis, MO; Michael Farrell, Shavertown; grandsons, Connor and Landon Farrell; sisters, Mary Frances Bobeck (James), Marlene Osick (Richard), Bernadine Jones (Thomas), Plains Township; Dolores Burkhart (Joseph), Sayre; and Jean Ann Suitch (David), Mountaintop; sisters-in-law, Deborah Dunleavy Dunn (Daniel), Moscow, and Kathleen Dunleavy, Pittston; numerous nephews, nieces, great nephews, and great nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and mother-in-law, Claire Snee Dunleavy, and father-in-law, James Patrick Dunleavy.

George graduated from Coughlin High School, and then went on to achieve his B.A. in Criminal Justice from King’s College.

Lt. Col. Farrell received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1978 from the Wilkes University Air Force ROTC Detachment. He was assigned to Loring AFB, ME as an intelligence officer with the 42nd Bomb Wing supporting B-52 Stratofortresses under the Strategic Air Command. In the 1980s he worked for and with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at Bolling AFB in Washington DC and became a subject matter expert on the military capabilities of the Soviet Union and had a temporary assignment with the US Embassy in Moscow. Later he was assigned to Howard AFB, Panama where he was involved in drug interdiction operations. During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm he was assigned to the Pentagon working for the Headquarters Air Force Directorate of Intelligence. In that capacity, he provided daily briefings to both Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell on status of operations during the First Gulf War.

After the war, Lt. Col. Farrell subsequently served at Langley AFB, VA and again at the Pentagon, where he retired from the Air Force in 1999 after more than 20 years of service. His military awards and decorations include: Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and several Unit Awards.

Upon his retirement from the Air Force, George and his family returned to Pennsylvania where he worked the remainder of his career as Vice President and Chief of Staff at C-Tec, a telecommunications company.

GEORGE CLEMENT FARRELL

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