FARREN, Pamela Jean "Pam" (McINTIRE)

MCINTIRE, FARREN, HUTZELL, BUGS, MITCHELL, BONSACK

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 6/21/2018 at 11:54:14

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, April 26, 2018

OBITUARY ~ PAMELA JEAN "PAM" (McINTIRE) FARREN
January 26, 1951 ~ April 08, 2018

Pamela Jean (McIntire) Farren lived with the intention of leaving a legacy from the date of her birth, January 26, 1951, until she drew her last breath on April 8, 2018. She was born and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She graduated from East High School in May of 1969 and was married to Dean in June of that same year.

Pam was a devoted wife and mother who loved her family dearly. She started her family on the east side of Des Moines and was an active member of the Staves UMC where she delivered her first sermon as a lay preacher. Pam and her family moved to an acreage in Redfield, Iowa in 1978 where she raised her children. As a stay home mom, she continued to be active in her faith and lay speaking at the Dexter UMC. After moving to Adel in 1987, she continued her lay speaking and worked several years at the local grocery store. Being a lay preacher was the first step in Pam’s preparation for her official ordination into the Methodist ministry. By 1993, Pam was ready to begin pastoring her own churches and was appointed to Diagonal, Arispe and Shannon City in southern Iowa.

While she was serving her churches, she attended community college and also spent a month each summer for five years going through accelerated seminary classes at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. Pam was ordained in 2001 and was then assigned to a church in Hudson, Iowa. Unfortunately, in July 2002, Pam’s life took a sobering turn as she suffered a massive brainstem stroke which dramatically altered the course of the rest of her life.

In 2003, Pam and Dean moved to Boone to be closer to their daughter Jenifer (Dave) and their grandkids. When Pam first moved to Boone she was active with the Boone First UMC. Pam officiated several ceremonies for close friends and family and continued to minister to anyone she came into contact with. Her faith in God remained strong throughout her entire life and people were drawn to her. This allowed her the opportunity to share the Word of God and to teach others how to stay true to it. Pam always prayed with and for other people.

Thanks to her loving caregiver and husband, Dean, she was able to travel to the mountains and Minnesota many times over the years. She enjoyed; spending time with loved ones, shopping, camping, reading, music, singing, bird watching, painting, horses, practicing her calligraphy skills, making connections with new and old friends, admiring her extensive collection of angels and spending quiet time in prayer. Pam will always be remembered for her gift of ministering to bereaved parishioners, friends and acquaintances. She also had particular empathy for those who were suffering from illness at home or were hospitalized. Her quick sense of humor and infectious laugh helped to easily establish rapport and served to lighten the load on those who mourned or where ill. She truly relished her life and the people who were in it. We are certain that Pam has been met by as many angels as were in her collection and shepherded into Eternal Bliss with her Beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Those who will honor and remember her legacy include her husband, Dean Farren; daughters, Jenifer Jean (Farren) Hutzell and husband, Dave Hutzell and Angilene Michele Farren and husband, Brian Buggs; three grandchildren, Olivia Jean Hutzell, Sunshine Elizabeth Hutzell, and David Dean Hutzell.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Samuel “Sam” McIntire and Veronica “Jean” (Mitchell) McIntire; her sister, Paula Jane McIntire; and her best friend, Debbie Bonsack.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church, 703 Arden St, Boone, Iowa. A light supper will follow in the church fellowship room. To honor Pam’s memory, a memorial fund will be established at Mary Greeley Hospice. Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr is in charge of her arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.armstrongfh.com

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2018

Ringgold Obituaries maintained by Tony Mercer.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen