From a contemporary news report:
VIRGINIA BEACH — Retired Captain Francis Joseph Farino, U.S. Navy, 69, passed away peacefully January 22, 2001, surrounded by his family and friends following a courageous battle with cancer.
A 32-year resident of Virginia Beach, Capt. Farino was born in Holley, New York. He was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Class of 1955, with a master’s degree from George Washington University. He served as a submarine officer in the United States Navy for 28 years. Following retirement, he was a project manager with the Jonathan Corporation in Norfolk for 12 years and was a certified mediator through the Supreme Court of Virginia for the past five years for both general and family mediation.
Captain Farino was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, the U.S. Naval Submarine League, the American Legion, and a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. He was on the Board of Trustees for the Despute Settlement Center in Norfolk as well as a mediation mentor through the Virginia Supreme Court.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Gwen Preston Farino; two daughters and their husbands, Carol and Wayne Wright and Linda and John Connor, all of Virginia Beach; three sons and their wives, Dale and Julie Farino of Virginia Beach, Mark and Lindsay Farino of Portola Valley, Calif., Douglas and Diane Farino of Virginia Beach; 11 grandchildren, Todd Wright, Tucker Connor, Kristin Farino, Courtney Farino, Will Farino, Holly Farino, Wyatt Farino, Joseph Farino, Elizabeth Connor, Kendall Farino, and Julia Farino; two sisters, Judy Emanuele and Rena Farino of Holley, N.Y.; one brother, Lee Farino of Blackwood, N.J.; as well as a host of other family members and
special friends.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 712 Little Neck Road, Virginia Beach, with a viewing one hour prior to Mass. The family will receive friends at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, this evening from 6 to 8 p.m. A chapel service will be conducted at 12:45 p.m. Feb. 7, 2001, at Fort Myer Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery followed by burial with full military honors.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 2730 Ellsmere Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23513.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard