Joseph Denson Farish, Jr. (1921-2010) was born to Joseph D. and Louise Johnson Farish in Columbus, Georgia, where the senior Farish, a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, worked primarily as a cotton broker with his father.The Farish family moved to West Palm Beach in 1925 where Joseph Farish, Sr. started a law practice with Egbert Beall.Mr. Farish continued to practice law for the next fifty-two years.Joe, Jr. attended Palm Beach County schools and graduated from Palm Beach High School in 1938, then enrolled in the University of Florida.He met Nell Hall Burt during summer classes in 1941 and they married the following summer.They were married for nearly 52 years when Nell died in 1993.He and Nell had four children, Louise, Ann, Laurel and Joe III, who died in 1953 after being stricken with polio. But first, World War II interrupted his higher education and family plans.
The U.S. Army called Joe to active duty in 1942.He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served in the field artillery of the First Infantry Division. His first overseas posting was in North Africa and he later participated in the Sicilian Campaign and the island’s subsequent occupation.He was shipped to England to train for the highly anticipated invasion of northern Europe.On D-Day, June 6, 1944, he was in one of the initial landing parties on Easy Red Omaha Beach for which he later received the Bronze Star.Once the beachhead had been established, Joe helped the advance, participated in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, continued the march through Europe, and ended up meeting the Russian Army in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
After the war, Farish was reunited with his wife Nell and continued his education at the University of Florida. Upon earning his law degree in 1947, they returned to West Palm Beach where he took up the practice of law in partnership with his father.Almost immediately, Joe was appointed as a city judge for West Palm Beach and continued in the position for five years.He later gained a reputation as a skillful and successful trial lawyer.His varied law practice has included personal injury, wrongful death, divorce (in some cases, very high profile divorces), and criminal law.
In addition to his legal practice, he invested in other businesses, including two radio stations in Brevard County, a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in North Palm Beach, several citrus groves, and cattle ranches.He also developed the Los Incas and Rabbit Hill subdivisions in Palm Beach and other properties across the state.Joe has been involved with many cultural and service organizations, including the VFW, American Legion, 40 & 8 (from the First World War the name refers to the 40 men and 8 horses that could fit inside a boxcar), the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association, Maltz Theatre in Jupiter, the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, and the Rotary Club where he has been active for 63 years.Joe’s involvement with the March of Dimes started when his son contracted polio.The organization helped the Farishes with the expenses of the special medical procedures and the Farishes in turn have supported and helped raise money for the organization ever since.
Joe Farish met Loreen Beisweinger (1947-2012) at a Rotary benefit in 1994.Loreen was a winter visitor to the Palm Beaches from New Jersey.Their long distance romance culminated in marriage on December 28, 2001.Joe continued to practice law in the same building he worked with his father at 316 Banyan Street, in West Palm Beach until his death.Joe Farish’s success in business as well as in life is best exemplified in a comment Joe made to a reporter while responding to criticism from opposing counsel, “I don’t care what others say!I like to fight, and I like to win.It’s very simple.”