Constance (Connie) J. (Vallance) Farell

Comedic. Charismatic. Born to help. You knew Mrs. Claus, didn’t you? Of course you did. Because practically everyone knew Connie Farell, the larger-than-life Grand Haven resident who for 25 years played the Christmastime character aboard Santa’s sleigh during the annual Jingle Bell Parade, as well as at Santa’s House downtown. We lost Connie due to renal failure and complications associated with dementia on October 4, 2024. She was 87.

Connie was a “big personality,” to say the least. She absolutely embodied the term as director of membership for the Chamber of Commerce; the lead character in "Nunsense," a popular comedy produced by the Central Park Players; Tri-Cities Historical Museum volunteer; singer and performer in the Sweet Adelines; beloved story-lady for the children’s sermon on Sundays at the C3 Spiritual Community; and, of course, Grand Haven’s well-known dog whisperer during her retirement.

The early years. Connie was born in Pennsylvania where she was adopted by George and Agnes Vallance. She loved them dearly and chose never to try to locate her biological parents. Connie grew up in Lakefield, Ontario, outside of Toronto. However, when the family first moved to Canada, customs officials would not allow her to bring her dog into the country. It broke young Connie’s heart. Perhaps the experience is what triggered her undeniable love of animals. Perhaps it is what inspired her mom and dad to raise Collies as an avocation. Always comfortable with being the center of attention, Connie’s youthful confidence grew as she took both ballet and tap-dancing lessons as a child. She also faced adversity at an early age when she discovered her mother on the floor after a fall due to a brain aneurysm, leaving her mom unable to talk. Connie was instrumental in her mother’s care for many years thereafter.

Wife and mother. After taking college level courses in home economics, Connie moved to the U.S. in 1955 and went to work at the iconic Fisher Building in Detroit. She married David Farell in 1958. The couple eventually moved to New Hudson, Michigan, about 30 miles outside of Detroit. They had two sons, Matt and Todd. Dave and Connie were divorced in 1971. It was around this time that she went to work as an “Avon lady,” selling cosmetics. It is how she came to know just about everyone who lived in New Hudson.

Blessed with a beautiful voice, she also became involved with the Farmington chapter of the Sweet Adelines, the worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony. She was active with the West Michigan chapter in concerts and countless other performances after she moved to Grand Haven.

That girl. In 1977, Connie went to work for WXYZ TV, the ABC affiliate in Detroit. The station, with studios at Broadcast House in Southfield, was the undisputed leader of the city’s media in those days. Its news anchor people, weather casters and sports casters were considered local stars—people such as Bill Bonds, John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, Jerry Hodak, Al Ackerman, and Doris Biscoe. Connie was friends with them all. She served as the liaison between people who came to the station for interviews and the hosts of various newscasts and other programming. On a daily basis, she rubbed shoulders with city and state politicians, sports stars, business moguls, medical experts, actors and actresses who visited the station. One day during the ‘80s, when Tom Selleck visited the station for an interview, he split the seam of his pants on the set. It was Connie who came to the rescue and sewed them up. Later that day, Selleck asked her out on a date. She declined. On another occasion, former world heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali visited the station. In typical fashion, Connie, hit it off with “the Greatest.” When she asked for his autograph, she talked him into signing it, "Cassius Clay." He confided to her that it was the first time since the late ‘60s that he had given anyone an autograph with his birth name.

On to Grand Haven. Stories differ on how it was that Connie relocated to West Michigan. What is known for sure is that she first moved to the Tri-Cities area in 1987 and went to work at a friend’s antique shop on Washington. She soon convinced officials at the Association of Commerce and Industry, which would eventually become the Chamber of Commerce, that “You need me to help sell your city.” She did just that and helped grow the chamber through her devotion to membership drives, keeping members communicated on business and civic issues; and, with her artistic sensibilities, coaching retailers how to design their window displays. She also worked with chamber ambassadors to organize the original Jingle Bell parade which local residents still enjoy every year on the first Saturday of December.

When Connie moved to town, she had already played the role of Mother Superior Mary Regina in the play, "Nunsense," in Brighton, Michigan. She reprised the role of a religious who is a former circus tightrope walker and cannot resist the spotlight, when she joined the Central Park Players in Grand Haven. In fact, she starred in three different plays from the Nunsense series. The five-woman productions turned out to be some of the troop’s most successful plays ever. Connie went on to starring roles in at least a dozen other CPP productions.

As a Tri-Cities Museum volunteer, she helped to attract singers and musical groups to perform during the holidays. She often played the Easter Bunny at Easter egg hunts around town. And one year, while delivering the children’s sermon at C3 services before Easter, she asked the kids to imagine what might be inside a bucket she brought for the Easter Bunny; she then pulled out a head of broccoli. Connie was also a volunteer auctioneer who helped to raise funds for Grand Haven’s police, as well as civic causes. She helped to put on breakfasts in conjunction with the Dawn Patrol festival at the city’s airport. And she was someone you could always rely on as an activist involved with Save Our Neighborhood (which evolved into the Southside Neighborhood Association) in the attempt to minimize the removal of old homes at the time of construction of the new County Courthouse.

Her later years. After Connie retired from the chamber in 2006, she was able to travel with either her son or her father to such destinations as Scotland, Spain, Japan, Australia, and other countries. She also began to “dog sit” for extra income at her home. Her love of dogs was obvious to all, and she was known for being able to win over even the most incorrigible canine. Her last dog, Phyllis, died swaddled in a blanket in her arms after the pooch walked off a dock and was rescued from the Grand River by a passerby. Her last pet was Stanley the cat. When Connie walked down the street with Stanley at her side, the cat heeled…just like a dog.

Connie was known for so many things: from her comic appeal to her MC abilities, from her famous corn pudding that she always brought to neighborhood functions to her love of sweets (especially root beer floats). But perhaps she was best known for her ability to make people *all people* feel as though they really mattered. She would empathize with a friend in the hospital as genuinely as she would comfort a child on Santa’s lap. And in her own words on a visit to see elderly patients at Grand Pines during her final months she said, “I guess I was born to help people.”

Connie Farell is survived by her two sons, Matt (Grace) Farell and Todd Farell; her granddaughter, Taylor; and her brother, Robert Vallance.

She is gone, but not forgotten.

The Celebration of Life for Connie will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2024, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at Central Park Place (formerly, the Community Center).

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