Margaret Jean Farrell

Margaret Jean Koeneman Farrell, age 86, passed away peacefully of kidney failure on January 7, 2022, at Riderwood Retirement Community in Silver Spring, MD. She was born in Rochester, MN on February 15, 1935, to Ephraim John (EJ) Koeneman and Margaret Richman Koeneman. Jean was preceded in death by her parents, her twin sister, Elizabeth Ann (Beth) Koeneman Harper, and her husband, Richard Terrence Farrell. She is survived by her nieces and nephews: Mary Supple, Elizabeth Wilson, Richard Wilson, James Harper, Jacque Harper, Murray Supple, and Matthew Supple, who has been responsible for her care and well-being for the past several years.

Jean was a lifelong learner. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1957 from Stanford University, a Master’s of Science degree from Indiana University in 1959, and a second Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 1959. Jean taught high school English Literature at High Point High School in Beltsville, MD, from 1965 until 1978, and at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD, from 1978 until her retirement in 1998. She was a masterful and beloved teacher known for her wry sense of humor and demand for excellence from all of her students. She had compassionate control of the toughest classes and her students and fellow teachers all adored her.

Jean married Richard “Dick” Farrell in 1961. He was an Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the History Department at the University of Maryland, where he also served as Chair of the Campus Senate and Chair of the University System of Maryland Council of University Faculty. Jean and Dick moved from Indiana to University Park, MD, in 1965. Following Dick’s death in 1991, Jean remained in their home until she moved into Riderwood in Silver Spring in 2017.

Jean was an avid reader and had a deep love of classical music, bridge, gardening, opera, theater, and travel. There will be no memorial service due to COVID-19.