Winifred Charlotte Goings Farrar, known to all as “Winnie,” was born on August 2, 1932, in Orange, New Jersey, to Gertrude and Charles Goings. After her parents’ deaths, she was raised in Rutherford by her paternal grandparents, Mattie and Charles Brown, who instilled in her a deep sense of discipline, service, and responsibility to community.

Winnie married her childhood sweetheart, Alfred Farrar, Sr., and together they made their home in Teaneck, New Jersey. Their family included three children—Helen Victoria “Vickie,” Alfred Jr. (“Rip”), and Charles Robert (“Charlie Brown”)—and Winnie also played a central role in raising her stepson, Douglas Raymond Farrar. Family remained the anchor of her life, shaping both her personal values and her public commitments.

Celebrated affectionately as “the world’s greatest nurse,” Winnie devoted her professional life to caregiving and health equity. She began her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse and went on to make history as one of the first African American Family Nurse Practitioners in the United States, reflected in her remarkably early license number, #30. Winnie earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and later a Master’s degree in Nursing, continuing her advanced training at Cornell University, where she obtained her Family Nurse Practitioner certification. Her work combined clinical excellence with compassion, particularly for underserved communities.

Winnie’s commitment to justice extended far beyond her profession. She was deeply involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, participating at both national and local levels. She was an active member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the National Urban League, and in Teaneck she played a leadership role in the Northeast Community Organization (NECO). Her organizing work helped strengthen grassroots networks and empower local residents to demand equity and representation.

Politics was another arena where Winnie left a lasting mark. She served as a delegate for the presidential campaigns of Shirley Chisholm and Jesse Jackson, as well as for Kenneth Gibson’s campaign for governor of New Jersey. Known for her strategic insight and tireless organizing, Winnie helped reshape local and state political landscapes by mentoring candidates, mobilizing voters, and building coalitions.

Her vision of justice was global as well as local. Winnie was an early supporter of the African National Congress and traveled to South Africa to support efforts to dismantle apartheid, reflecting her belief that struggles for freedom were interconnected across borders. She also helped found a group that established an orphanage in Zimbabwe, extending her lifelong ethic of care to the international stage.

Winnie is survived by her children and grandchildren—Malcolm, Sydney, Alyssa, and Elijah—as well as her sisters June Goings and Hope Jackson, her brother Ronald Goings, and many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. She was predeceased by her sister Deborah Goings and her brother Charles Goings.

Rooted in community, driven by justice, and guided by compassion, Winifred “Winnie” Farrar lived a life defined by service—always present, always engaged, and always committed to making the world more humane.

"Fair Housing Unit Opens A New Door." The Record, 20 Jan. 1969, p. B-2.

"Winifred Charlotte Farrar in the U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current." Ancestry.