My grandparents were John Hubert Cheek and Lola Marie (Hamman) Cheek. My grandfather was born October 5, 1893 in Lindale, Texas. In his younger days he played the jazz trombone all across the country. To this day I still have his jazz trombone that he gave me shortly before in died in 1965, myself and both of our sons have played this trombone. My grandmother was born in Garden Valley, Texas on January 17, 1902. They married on June 26, 1922 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
John Hubert Cheek Lola Marie (Hamman) Cheek
My grandfather was a civil engineer and once they got married he settled down and stopped his traveling. They were both very active in their church where grandmother was the church pianist. After several years of marriage they found out that they could not have any children. During these years they lived in the Fort Worth area of Texas. On July 21, 1927, my mother was born in Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. She was adopted through Hope Cottage. The story was told that the mother played the piano and had died at birth from uremic poisoning. In later years, mother would get sad on her birthday, because she felt she was the cause of her mother's death.
John Hubert, Camylle Sharon and Lola Marie Cheek
My mother had a great childhood. The family eventually moved to Lindale, Texas where my mother went to high school. The following picture is of their home in Lindale. I will always remember this picture, because it brings out the warm and cozy feeling this home had.
Sharon's home in Lindale, Texas
In high school she was head cheerleader, voted most outstanding personality of her senior high school class, tennis player and made excellent grades. She was also an excellent writer. On December 28, 1943, my mother eloped and married my father, Dr. Joseph Milton Farrell, Jr. a veterinarian student and former football player at Texas A&M University. He finished college and she finished high school in early 1944. And yes, Sharon was 16 when she got married.
Dr. Joseph Milton and Camylle Sharon Cheek Farrell (abt. 1944)
Sharon during early marriage years.
My father was in the Army after he finished A&M and they were stationed in the New York area where my older sister Pamela Kaye Farrell was born March 2, 1945. Shortly after that they moved to Arlington, Texas. My father started up a veterinarian clinic in Arlington with his brother, Don. My other sister, Jennifer Lynn Farrell, was born on July, 14, 1948. I finally came on the scene on December 12, 1952. Here are a few family shots from over the years:
In 1949, Sharon, Jenny (baby) and Pam Farrell (L-R) on Grandmother's porch in
Lindale, TX
In 1949, Jenny (baby), Lola, Pam (approx. 4), Sharon & Hubert in Lindale, TX
Tim, Sharon, Jenny and Pam Farrell
Tim with mother, Sharon at home in Arlington, TX
Sharon with oldest daughter, Pam
Jenny and Sharon 1959
Sharon 1965
In 1967, Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer. In one fell swoop our lives were turned upside down. During those years cancer treatments were crude compared to today's standards. As you can see in the following picture Sharon changed a lot visually. Note the wig and swollen face in this picture.
1971 - Tim, Sharon (swollen due to cancer), Jenny & Pam
Sharon passed away October 18, 1973 after the cancer had migrated to her brain. At the time I was a junior in college and Pam and Jenny were both married. Our mother was the glue that held everything together and we miss her terribly.
In 1976, my older sister, Pam, was facing some very challenging medical problems. Her son, Nathan, had severe allergies and a hearing loss. She wanted to see if the problems were genetically induced. To that effect she wrote several letters to Hope Cottage. She received three letters which can be found at the following links:
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-005.jpg
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-006.jpg
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-007.jpg
Several key bits of information were obtained from these letters:
1. The biological mother was 42 years of age.
2. If the mother was still alive she would be 91 years old.
3. The address given was so old it would probably be of no use.
Pamela Kaye Farrell (Notice the gap in her teeth - Tim has this gap too!)
Pam's only child - Nathan Martin
Over the years, Pam ran into road block after road block until on September 1, 1983 a judge opened the records. The records are located at the following links:
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-001.jpg
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-002.jpg
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Adoption-003.jpg
This information gave her a parent name of Golden H. Knox and Sharon's birth name as baby Susan Knox. She did not obtain the address that was mentioned in the prior letters from Hope Cottage. It is our understanding that we should be able to get another court order requiring Hope Cottage to supply this information if it turns out it will help tie all the ends together.
Sadly, my sister, Pam, developed major health issues over the years and passed away April 2, 2000. Most of these problems seem to have been neurologically based. After her death my wife, Pam, and I took up the banner of the search. It wasn't until January 8, 2004 at 12:30 am that we finally hit pay dirt. We finally found Golden Hope Knox on the newly created index for the 1930 census. Up until that time we were under the assumption that the name listed on the adoption papers was the father's. The rest is as they say history. We will continue to update our site as more information comes in, so please feel free to go to our link often.
http://www.timandpam.com/Sharon/Sharon.htm
In closing here are some current family pictures:
Following are photos of Jenny Farrell Estes family in Denton, TX area:
Jenny (Sharon's second child), Bill (Jenny's husband),
Brooke (Jenny's daughter), Anson (Brooke's baby),
Derrick (Brooke's husband), Rachel (Todd's wife), Todd (Jenny's son)
Brooke, Bill, Jenny, Todd
Note: Todd's wavy hair (Tim's son, Derrick, also has wavy hair)
Following are photos of Tim Farrell's family in Houston, TX area:
Pam, Tim, Lance and Derrick (L-R)
