Douglas Conagan O’Farrell of Langley passed away peacefully on the morning of March 8, 2009, his wife Ann’s birthday, following a very long illness.

A private family service was held in the farmhouse on Saturday, March 14, led by Pastor Dick Jeffers.

Doug’s friends and family knew him as a proud Irishman, storyteller, carpenter and sailor.

In 1974, Doug moved to the island with his family, where he built a three-story colonial saltbox home without power tools in which his family dwells to this day.

Born in the Bronx in 1941, Doug spent several years in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and returned to civilian life to resume work as a carpenter and woodworking teacher. He was a lover of international dance and founded the Israeli Folk Dancers while studying Russian language at the University of Washington. He later attained a master’s degree at Western Washington University. Late in his life, his favorite pastimes included collecting immense rocks (harkening back to the Blarney Stone of Ireland), telling stories and amassing heaps of firewood to burn in his beloved, walk-in fireplace.

Doug was preceded in death by his son Miles and his only brother Russell, and he is survived by his wife Ann O’Farrell of Langley; his daughter Jenevive Delazzari of Arlington and her husband James Delazzari, her son Leif and stepson Liber; and his daughter Sarah O’Farrell McCarthy of Oakland, Calif., and her husband Cormac McCarthy, originally of Cahir, Ireland.

The family would like to thank the many workers at Careage of Whidbey who made his last months as comfortable as possible.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Doug’s honor can be sent to Heifer International.