PETERSBURG, Va. -- The word icon may be used too often, but in this case, it's just one word that can be used to describe Florence Farley.
The former mayor of Petersburg passed away at her home on early Sunday morning. The legacy that the 95-year-old leaves behind is one that will be nearly impossible to beat.
"It's just so sad to not have Florence here to call upon for advice and just to chew the fat," Dale Pittman, a friend of Farley, said.
"She gave her life to Petersburg," Fenton Bland Jr., who knew Farley his entire life, said. "I will miss her."
Some call Farley a trailblazer, others may call her a firebrand while many others in Petersburg call her a friend.
"Florence was an old, dear friend of mine I spoke to regularly," Pittman remembered.
Pittman met Farley in 1977 when she was on the Petersburg City Council. Pittman came to Petersburg to open the Legal Aid Society.
"She supported something dear to my heart, of course, legal aid for the poor, free legal services for low-income Petersburg residents in civil cases," Pittman said.
In 1973, Farley ran and won a seat on Petersburg City Council. She was the first African American female member of the city council.
A decade later, Bland won a seat on the city council.
"She didn't ask for your opinion, she gave her opinion," Bland said.
"The conscience, her thing was the conscience of the community and the conscience of the council and she would always say that," Bland said.
Farley got her Ph.D. and taught at Virginia State University, ultimately becoming the chair of the psychology department.
She would also serve as the mayor of Petersburg and would spend several years on Petersburg's school board.
"She had an impact upon the school system and the children in the city of Petersburg that was very important," Wayne Crocker, who met Farley in 1980, said. "She welcomed me as a young professional coming into the city of Petersburg. So I really appreciated her support as a council member, her energy for the city of Petersburg and her interest in an institution like the public library and what it meant to the citizens of Petersburg."
Crocker said that Farley never lost sight of what was happening in the city she called home.
"She was still, almost until the end, very much in the forefront of what was going on in the city of Petersburg," Crocker said.
"She just told me, Fenton, I want the bare minimum, I don't want any celebration. I just want to fade away peacefully, those are her words," Bland said.
Farley will long be remembered for the many firsts in her life, for her role in civil rights and in education.
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