The Farabees: A Legacy of Service
Representative David Farabee comes from a family with a rich history of public service. Through their many achievements, the Farabees have played a meaningful role in events that have helped shape Texas.
David’s father, Ray Farabee, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1975, representing Wichita Falls and the surrounding area. As a state senator, he delved into issues ranging from health care and the judicial system, to textbooks and the state budget. Ray eventually retired from the Texas Senate and went on to become general counsel for the University of Texas System. He has served on the board of directors of the Equal Access to Justice Foundation, which funds legal services across the state for low income Texans. He has also served on several other boards including: the Center for Public Policy Priorities; the YMCA Texas Youth in Government Program Advisory Committee; the Philosophical Society of Texas; and Caring for Children, Inc. While Mr. Farabee was in Wichita Falls, he helped bring public television to town – KIDZ, the public television station in Wichita Falls that is now part of KERA. In 1985, Texas Business Magazine presented he and his late wife Helen Farabee with the “Texan of the Year” Award, in recognition of the statewide impact of their work.
Ray is married to Mary Margaret Farabee. Mary Margaret had served as Chair Emeritus of the Texas Book Festival for eight years. She helped found and organize the Festival in 1995 in cooperation with the then First Lady of Texas, Laura Bush. Mary Margaret was awarded an honorary membership in the Texas Society of Architects. She has also served as president of the Heritage Society of Austin. She has served on the boards of People’s Community Clinic, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Phoenix House of Texas, and the University of Texas Harry Ransom Center Advisory Council. She was honored as the Austin Board of Realtors’ “Most Worthy Citizen” and was recognized as a community volunteer in fields of the performing and literary arts, historic preservation, environmental causes, and human services.
David’s mother, Helen Jane Rehbein Farabee, was a mental health and human services advocate. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, where she was the first woman elected student-body president at a Big Ten school. Through her student government work she met Ray Farabee, president of the University of Texas student body.
Helen served as assistant dean of women at the University of Texas and worked with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Her many voluntary activities included work with the local mental health and mental retardation board and the Wichita Falls State Hospital. She eventually broadened her activities, and worked to encourage the state legislature to establish the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Mrs. Farabee later served as president of the Texas Mental Health Association and director at large of the National Association of Mental Health. She also was appointed to the Public Committee on Mental Health by first lady Rosalyn Carter. She chaired the State Mental Health Code Task Force, which culminated its work in the revision of the 1957 Texas mental health code. In addition to her work in mental health, she served on the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, worked for improved child care and better services for the elderly. Her work on the Governor’s Task Force on Indigent Health Care resulted in landmark state legislation that expanded medical care for the poor. She also served on the Governor’s Commission for Women and was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to volunteerism.
