An obituary from the family of Peter Farley. May he rest in peace.

 

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Peter John Farley of Garden Road, Sheringham announce his death on the 29th September 2022.

 

Peter is loved and remembered dearly by his beloved wife Margaret, his children Caroline, Mark, Sarah and Rebekah, their respective partners, his many devoted grandchildren, great grandchildren and his cat Misty.

 

His family were there to support him in his last weeks and shared many special moments including a visit from his dear sister Pauline.

 

Peter was an exceptional man who led an inspirational life. He was a genuinely kind-hearted person who strived to help others in any way that he could.

 

He will be remembered personally by many whom he helped, from his early career as a Police Detective in the Midlands and Hertfordshire, as the Headmaster at Sheringham Court School which was a residential school for boys who were under functioning educationally for environmental reason. He loved his work here especially. Peter often put the concerns of others in front of his own to provide care, support and opportunities for growth.

 

Peter, along with his wife, founded the drug and alcohol abuse charity, The Matthew Project, in 1984. The project originally went out to secondary schools in the county and had an in-person counselling service in Central Norwich.

 

He travelled extensively with the Matthew Project, speaking and supporting others in places as far away as Kenya, Latvia, Portugal, Russia and South Africa.

 

Post retirement from his day to day work with the Matthew Project he was greatly honoured to become a Patron of the charity.

 

He also attended conferences in Florida, Sweden & Spain with ISAAC (International Substance Abuse & Addiction Coalition) and visited No 10 in David Cameron’s time, Highgrove in Prince Charles’s time and met the Queen at Sandringham.

 

It brought Peter so much joy to be able to help so many people and it brings his family great comfort and pride that his legacy lives on through the work that the charity continues to do.

 

Peter is also be known for the work he did for the charity Care for Children that pioneers family placement care for abandoned children in China as an alternative to institutional care.

 

He travelled to China several times and raised awareness and money for the charity by walking the Great Wall of China with his great friend and founder Robert Glover.

 

Later in life he worked for the Trusted Charity Mark (formerly known as PQASSO) inspecting and auditing charities both large and small and helping them to get accreditation.

 

Closer to home he was a valued member of the Sheringham Town Council and one of his more recent achievements was to help establish & raise funds for the Sheringham Mens Shed run by the Lighthouse Church for men and women to find community through workshops, arts and crafts, computer classes and coffee mornings.

 

Peter was a published writer and poet. He was also a keen flower photographer and loved good food and a night around the chimenea talking and looking at the stars. He loved to travel and would always learn to say hello, goodbye and thank you in whatever language he was confronted with and will be fondly remembered by many for his cheeky sense of humour.

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Funeral arrangements 

 

The funeral of Peter Farley took place on Tuesday, 11th October 2022

 

While Peter was a great lover of flowers, he asked that, instead of flowers, donations are made to the Matthew Project via this link https://peterfarley.muchloved.com/

 

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If you have any stories or memories about how Peter Farley or the Matthew Project have helped you, please contact [email protected]. Thank you.