Zulma Milagros Ponce-Farber

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our darling mother, Zulma Milagros Ponce-Farber, 74, of Harrisburg, on Monday, July 6, 2015.

Zulma touched the lives of thousands during her more than 25 years at William Penn High School, where she taught Biological and Physical Sciences, embracing many of her students like her own children.

Born August 22, 1940 in the Spanish colonial town of San German, Puerto Rico, Zulma's birth was no less than miraculous to her parents, Ignacio and Epiphania Ponce de Leon, who named her Milagros, Spanish for "miracle," to celebrate her arrival.

Blessed with a roving intellect and the capacity for rigorous study, she graduated from the University of Puerto Rico early before moving to Pennsylvania where she started a family with Phillip A. Farber.

From champion of the Harrisburg Open Tennis Tournament to helicopter pilot, from using model rocketry to instruct physics or swimming with sharks in the Galapagos, Zulma's ceaseless zest for living is a continuing inspiration to her loved ones.

She is survived by two sons, Michael A. Farber (Carolyn Wilkins) of Concord, MA and Steven Felipe Farber of Brooklyn, NY; her siblings, Santiago, Sonia and Zoe, and her grandchildren, Jack and Claire.

A celebration of her life will be held at 2pm Friday, July 10 at Parthemore Funeral Home, New Cumberland.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, http://www.hawkmountain.org 1700 Hawk Mountain Rd., Kempton, PA 19529.