When Loreen Farish was a young girl living in Philadelphia, her fondest memories of the holiday season were when both sets of grandparents presented her with lots and lots of Christmas gifts. Although she loved receiving the beautifully wrapped presents, she would keep one present from each set and give the rest to area orphanages. “I was the only grandchild so everyone wanted to lavish me with gifts,” she recalls. “But I learned early on that Christmas is the time to give to others. So I would pick the one gift I wanted the most and give everything else away to children who needed to feel love during the holidays.” That spirit of giving has been an asset to area organizations like the West Palm Beach Rotary Club and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. For the past six years, Loreen and her well-known attorney husband Joe Farish Jr., who passed away in September, hosted a pair of holiday fundraisers in their 10,000-square-foot Jupiter Island home. Shortly before Joe’s death, the Farishes talked with Palm Beach Illustrated about what the holiday season means to them. “We built our home to be a fantastic party house, and for Christmas we decorate every single room, shower stall and loggia,” Joe said. Construction of the two-and-a-half-acre oceanfront home was completed in 2003. “We have no fireplaces because we want it open. Christmas is a happy time of the year, and everyone is in a good mood.” This year, the party for the Maltz, an 800-seat theater where Joe was a board member, will be held December 3. The following night, there is a gala for the Rotary, where the lawyer was active for 64 years. The exclusive events attract nearly 200 people each and raise about $60,000 for the Palm Beach County organizations. For 64 years, Joe defended and divorced an array of Palm Beach denizens with such names as Ford, Firestone, Dodge, Wakeman, Kimberly and Pulitzer. Since he knew so many people, both professionally and socially, Joe and Loreen loved bringing a wide variety of personalities to their holiday-decorated home. Joe believed these annual parties gave guests a chance to talk one on one with friends old and new. “Sometimes in Florida, there isn’t the
palmbeachillustrated.com | DECEMBER 2010
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