VIRGINIA BEACH -- Retired Captain Francis Joseph Farino, U.S. Navy, 69, passed away peacefully January 22, 2001, surrounded by his family and friends following a courageous battle with cancer.

A 32-year resident of Virginia Beach, Capt. Farino was born in Holley, New York.  He was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Class of 1955, with a master's degree from George Washington University. He served as a submarine officer in the United States Navy for 28 years. Following retirement, he was a project manager with the Jonathan Corporation in Norfolk for 12 years and was a certified mediator through the Supreme Court of Virginia for the past five years for both general and family mediation.

Captain Farino was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association,  the U.S. Naval Submarine League, the American Legion, and a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. He was on the Board of Trustees for the Despute Settlement Center in Norfolk as well as a mediation mentor through the Virginia Supreme Court.

He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Gwen Preston Farino; two daughters and their husbands, Carol and Wayne Wright and Linda and John Connor, all of Virginia Beach; three sons and their wives, Dale and Julie Farino of Virginia Beach, Mark and Lindsay Farino of Portola Valley, Calif., Douglas and Diane Farino of Virginia Beach; 11 grandchildren, Todd Wright, Tucker Connor, Kristin Farino, Courtney Farino, Will Farino, Holly Farino, Wyatt Farino, Joseph Farino, Elizabeth Connor, Kendall Farino, and Julia Farino; two sisters, Judy Emanuele and Rena Farino of Holley, N.Y.; one brother, Lee Farino of Blackwood, N.J.; as well as a host of other family members and
special friends.

A Mass of the Resurrection will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 712 Little Neck Road, Virginia Beach, with a viewing one hour prior to Mass. The family will receive friends at the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, this evening from 6 to 8 p.m. A chapel service will be conducted at 12:45 p.m. Feb. 7, 2001, at Fort Myer Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery followed by burial with full military honors.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 2730 Ellsmere Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23513.