Robert L. “Doc” Farner, MD passed away on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Luther Oaks in Bloomington, IL. He was 95.
Robert Lewis Farner was born to Fred (Fritz) and Marie Vallazza Farner on February 4, 1930. He grew up on a farm near Toluca, IL. He started his educational journey by attending Center School, a one-room schoolhouse in Marshall County, and then graduated from Toluca High School. He took his pre-med courses at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. He then received his medical degree from The University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1955. After an externship at Illinois Central Hospital in Chicago, he enlisted in the Air Force. Doc became a flight surgeon and achieved the rank of captain. While stationed at a DEW line base in remote Goose Bay, Labrador, he met and fell in love with a nurse, Kathleen (Kay) Murray. They were married in Lakota, IA in 1958. At the urging of a high school classmate and local banker, Jim Ghiglieri, Doc and Kay left the Air Force and moved to Toluca to begin his career in family medicine. Doc’s practice spanned everything from delivering babies to geriatrics, a busy career which lasted 45 years. Famously, Doc was one of the very few physicians who still made house calls. He was available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the only exception being rare vacations. Doc and Kay raised 3 sons in Toluca: Dr. Robert M. in Spokane, WA; David (Wendy) in Houston, TX, and Charlie (Colette) in Bloomington, IL. At the time of his passing, he had 5 grandsons: Alex (Madison), Zach, Jacob, Michael, and Daniel and 2 great granddaughters: Quinn and Tatum. After almost 43 years of marriage, Kay died in 2001. Less than a week before her death, Duane Traver, a good family friend, also died. In a period of mutual grief and mourning, Doc and Dorothy Traver supported each other through a very tough time. That mutual support developed into a friendship which eventually led to them being married in 2002. Doc was embraced by Dorothy’s entire extended family and gained adult “stepchildren:” Michael in St. Petersburg, FL; David (Heide) in Holmen, WI; and Tim (Jane) in Indio, CA. Doc and Dorothy had many adventures and collected friends and memories in Toluca, IL; Englewood, FL; Apache Junction, AZ; and Peoria, IL. Dorothy died in 2024. Doc was a lifetime member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Toluca, IL. He was on the staff of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator, IL and was a member of the AMA, LaSalle County Medical Society, and was a charter member of The American Family Physician’s Association. Doc was preceded in death by both of his parents; both of his wives, Kay and Dorothy; and his stepson, Dave. He is survived by his sisters, Ella Marie Kline and Marilyn Juers, his 3 sons and their wives, his 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, and 2 stepsons and wife, 1 step daughter-in-law, and many step grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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