Florence Messick Farthing

Florence Messick Farthing passed away at Magnolia Place in Roswell Georgia on January 28th, 2023 at the age of 93. She was born on July 21st, 1929 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Lola and Sel Messick. She graduated from Gray High School and Salem College and finished her undergraduate degree at Pfeiffer College as an English major. After graduation she was a lifelong educator and taught elementary grades primarily. She met Rhea Farthing at Old Town Elementary School in Winston-Salem, and they married in 1953. They were married for almost 62 years. They moved to Dade County Florida and taught there until they retired in 1984. They had two daughters, Beth Farthing Rogers and Beckie Farthing Parker. They enjoyed their summers in Boone and built a house there in 1966. Every school year they would pack up and migrate from Miami to Boone and then back again to start the school year until they retired. She and Rhea took a sabbatical year, and she got her Masters in Reading in 1968-1969 at Appalachian State University. She never met a stranger and loved having people over to her house – the more the merrier. She loved playing cards, dancing and in Boone she and Rhea founded a square-dancing group called the Mountain Laurel Squares. They were avid football fans and especially loved those years when Appalachian State was the Three-peat National Champs in their Division and beat the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She and Rhea moved to Roswell Georgia in late 2014. She maintained an active lifestyle at Brookdale-Chambrell in Roswell until late 2020 when she moved to be near Beth at Sunset Beach, NC. In late 2021, she moved back to Roswell to be near Beckie. She would light up when her grandchildren and great grandchildren were around. She is survived by her daughter Beth (Michael) Rogers, their children Jennifer (Michael) Philbeck of Cherryville, NC, Meredith Edmister of Trent Woods, NC, Laura Massey (Adam) of Lutz, FL and Dillon (Kayla) of Midland, NC. The great grandchildren are Madison, Lani and Kinslee Philbeck, Gracie and Hunter Jackson, Mara and Gregory Edmister, and Finley and Boone Massey. And by her daughter Beckie (Danny) Parker, their children Joel (Ifat) of Tel Aviv Israel, Sharon (Andrew) Nackashi of Tifton, GA, Brian (Jennifer) of Woodbridge, VA, Neal (Deborah) of Marietta, GA and David of Athens, GA. The great grandchildren are Ari, Eitan and Elianna Wald Parker, Genevieve and Annabelle Nackashi, Graham Parker, Amelia, Claire, Emma and Lydia Parker, and Dmitri, Damon, Eleanor and Emmanuelle Singletary-Parker. She was preceded in death by her parents Sel and Lola Messick, her sisters Lillian Essic and Norma Messick and her brother Lester and his wife Barbara Messick, and her husband Rhea Farthing.

Florence Messick Farthing

July 21, 1929 - January 28, 2023