Lasting Memories

Marion Farrell Moreno
April 6, 1924-Jan. 12, 2026
Menlo Park, California

Marion Farrell Moreno April 6, 1924 – January 12, 2026

Marion Farrell Moreno, née Marion Georgette Thompson, died peacefully at home in Menlo Park, California, on January 12, 2026, at the age of 101.

Marion was born in San Francisco, California, on April 6, 1924, to Ruth and Walter Thompson. In 1943, she married Jack Dempsey Farrell, with whom she had three children: David Farrell, Thomas Patrick Farrell, and Nancy Ann Freitas. Marion was a dedicated homemaker and loving mother, raising her family in the Menlo Park home that she and Jack built together in 1955. She remained in that beloved family home for the rest of her life.

After Jack’s death in 1988, Marion later married Halcott “Hal” Cadwallader Moreno in 1991. Hal moved into Marion’s Menlo Park home, and the two shared two decades of marriage until Hal’s death in 2011. Together, Marion and Hal enjoyed an active and joyful life filled with travel, friends, family gatherings, parties, and music concerts, especially jazz. Their adventures included 55 cruises around the world, creating a treasury of memories with those who knew and loved them.

Marion is survived by her sons, David Farrell and his wife Julie, and Thomas Patrick Farrell and his wife Laurie; and by her son-in-law, Robert Freitas, husband of Marion’s late daughter, Nancy Ann Freitas, who died in 2024 at the age of 70. Marion was preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Walter Thompson; her brothers, Edward Thompson and Richard Thompson; her husbands, Jack Dempsey Farrell and Halcott Cadwallader Moreno; and her daughter, Nancy Ann Freitas.

Marion’s funeral was held on January 22, 2026, and was attended by many dozens of family members and friends. A full Catholic Mass was celebrated at St. Raymond’s Church in Menlo Park, followed by a graveside service at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Los Altos, California.

Marion will be remembered for her devotion to family, her gracious hospitality, her love of music and travel, and the warmth and constancy she brought to the lives of family and friends across more than a century of life.