Anne V. Farrell, a longtime community leader and former CEO and president of the Seattle Foundation, died Saturday night surrounded by relatives in Seattle, her family said. She was 89.
Farrell made a name for herself leading the Seattle Foundation for two decades, from 1983 to 2003. One of the region’s biggest philanthropic organizations, the foundation supports civic initiatives and awards funding to local nonprofits. During her tenure, which coincided with a tech boom in the ’90s,. Farrell engaged the growing industry to expand the organization’s impact. She helped increase the Seattle Foundation’s endowment from $10 million to $300 million.
“She was a visionary and a trailblazer,” said Phyllis Campbell, retired CEO of the Seattle Foundation and retired vice chairman of JPMorgan Northwest.
Farrell’s early life was itinerant. Her father was a colonel in the Marine Corps; born in Beijing, Farrell lived on various bases until the end of World War II. When she became a mother at 20, she was determined to plant her family in place. Farrell attended the University of Washington and went on to spend the rest of her life in Seattle.
“She was a tender mother,” said Ginny Day, Farrell’s eldest daughter. Farrell was devoted to her family, and when her children were young, she attended extracurricular events and drew a cartoon on each of their school lunch bags every morning.
She decided to pursue a career in her 40s. In a Seattle Times profile published in 2003, she described the surprise she encountered upon entering the workforce. People asked if her husband was OK, or if their marriage was on the rocks. “It was that unusual to decide to do what I did,” Farrell said.
She juggled the personal and professional deftly, said Day, now in her 60s. “She managed that when it was very hard for a woman to manage a career at all.”
In the 2000s, Farrell served on the board of trustees at Seattle University. An avid reader, she was the chair of a successful fundraising campaign for the school’s library. A reading room there is dedicated to her.
“She just loved being part of things that supported the community,” said Stephen Sundborg, chancellor of Seattle University. He remembers Farrell for her grace and elegance.
Farrell was well-known as a community leader, serving on multiple boards of directors of local businesses and nonprofits alike, including REI, Washington Mutual, the Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Pacific Science Center, among many others.
She didn’t draw attention to herself, but her influence can be felt across the city. “She was kind of a quiet person behind the development of what Seattle was able to become,” Sundborg said.
Farrell entered the worlds of philanthropy and business at a time of profound change in both the workforce and in perceptions of working women. Her family and friends remember her for not only being ahead of her time, but going out of her way to pave a path for other women.
“I think there are a number of women today, myself included, that would say Anne Farrell really helped a lot of us,” said Campbell, who succeeded Farrell as president of the Seattle Foundation. “She had access to the corridors of power, but she always thought it was her job to share that access.”
At the Seattle Foundation, she first took the role of executive vice president. After she stepped down from the helm, she stayed on as president emeritus, an honorary title.
“Anne V. Farrell was a pioneer of women’s leadership in Seattle and a tireless advocate for philanthropy and civic engagement,” said Alesha Washington, current president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation. Under Farrell, the foundation invested in nonprofits responding to the AIDS crisis, environmental groups, and grassroots organizations. “Anne was an example for me on how to think big about the power of philanthropy. Through her leadership, Seattle Foundation became a leader in efforts to make our region a place where everyone can thrive.”
Prior to her time at the Seattle Foundation, Farrell volunteered as president of the Junior League of Seattle, a nonprofit for children’s and women’s well-being.
Farrell is survived by her husband, two daughters, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Material from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.
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