Obituary of James L. Farley

James L. Farley, surrounded by the love of his family, passed away peacefully on May 3, 2025, at the age of 83. He was born in Rock Creek, West Virginia, on January 24, 1942, to Azel and Essie Farley, the youngest of eight children. Jim graduated from Marsh Fork High School in 1960, where he was a four-sport letterman in football, basketball, baseball and track, and President of the Student Council. He was the first of his siblings to attend college, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration from Marshall University in 1965. More importantly, while in college he made sure not to let the hometown girl get away, marrying the love of his life, Bobbie Kay Webb. Jim went on to earn a Masters of Hospital Administration from the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University). For 50 years, Jim dedicated his professional life to health care administration and leadership, receiving the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year award in 1977. He also served as President of the West Virginia and Southeastern hospital associations. Jim, Bobbie, and their two daughters later moved to Cincinnati, where he served as President of Nursing Care Management of America, a company that owns and provides services to health care facilities, where he thrived in collaboration with his long-time partners. Jim was a born leader, bringing people and causes together. He chaired or served on numerous health care, civic and tennis organizations, including the American College of Healthcare Administrators, the Board of Governors of Marshall University, the Greater Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But his most proud achievement was as President of the Marsh Fork High School Alumni Association when it secured title and raised money for the establishment of a community park as a memorial to the school. Jim’s greatest joy was undoubtedly his family. He shared 61 wonderful years of marriage with Bobbie, and together they raised two daughters, Angela Farley Wilson and Andrea Farley. As an anniversary gift to each other in the early 1970s, Jim and Bobbie bought tennis rackets and learned how to play. A lifelong passion began. Jim was involved in all areas of tennis, building tennis courts in their small town in West Virginia, serving on countless committees to grow the sport, playing competitively himself, and owning a tennis and fitness center. Through Jim and Bobbie’s volunteerism and the daughters’ competitive successes, the Farley Family was named the USTA National Tennis Family of the Year in 1990, and last year Jim and Bobbie were inducted into the USTA Midwest Tennis Hall of Fame. While Jim lived in and loved Cincinnati, you could not take the country out of the boy. He spent many weekends and trips hunting with his brothers, friends, and grandsons that inevitably included many stories (some of which were true) and plenty of laughter. If not somewhere in the woods in Owen County, Kentucky, West Virginia, or some big game trip out west, you could find him with family and friends watching the Reds and Bengals or out at the ATP/Western & Southern/Cincinnati Open watching countless tennis matches. Jim is survived by his wife, Bobbie, and their two daughters and their families, Angela Farley Wilson (Kelly Euller) of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Andrea Farley (Paul Carriere) of Atlanta, Georgia; six grandchildren – Carly Wilson Martin (Cody), Wyatt Wilson, Annie Wilson Baker (Brady), Blake Wilson, Grant Carriere, and Margot Carriere; and four great-grandchildren – Poppy and Rhodes Martin, and Graham and Mia Baker. Jim also is survived by his brother, Ted Farley, and his sister, Patsy Farley Pettry, and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Azel and Essie Farley, and his siblings, Louise Farley Burnside, Azel Farley, Jr., Mildred Farley Cantley, Adolph Farley, and Peggy Farley Rizzuto. A visitation will be held at Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church, 5125 Drake Rd. Cincinnati (45243) on Thursday, May 22, 2025, from 10:00-10:45 am, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am and reception. A burial service will be held at Miller Cemetery, Rock Creek, West Virginia, at 1:00 pm on May 24, 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to either the Giving Voice Foundation, supporting Alzheimer’s and dementia programs or to the Jim Farley College of Business Leadership Scholarship at Marshall University by mail to the MU Foundation c/o Lance West, 519 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25703.