Robert “Bob” Farmer
On Sunday September 3, 2023 at 4:40 am, Robert “Bob” Duane Farmer, 85, passed away with his wife of 63 years by his side. He was a wonderful man, and we thank the Lord for his life and the many wonderful memories.
Bob, a lifelong resident of Logan County – whose surname reflects his occupation, was a fourth generation Farmer in Logan County and the last of that generation that remained in the county. Bob’s great grandfather, Absolam “A.B.” Farmer traveled from Waverly, Ohio to Illinois via riverboat around 1880 with a mule. After disembarking the riverboat in Cairo, Illinois, A.B. walked to Logan County and subsequently traded the mule for 40 acres of land (quite the bargain by today’s standards). Funny part of the story was that the mule died 6 months later.
Robert was born to Russell Farmer (1915-1967) and Helen Louise Grubb (1917-1998) on June 28, 1938 at Deaconess Hospital in Lincoln. He was raised by his father and stepmother, Juanita Paulsen Farmer. He attended Rabbit Flat School (a one room school house on 5th Street – 15 students, 7 of which were his siblings or cousins), and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1956. After high school, he served as a Private First Class in the Army Reserves and worked odd jobs before making farming his full-time job in 1964. He never retired.
Bob married the love of his life, Diane Caplinger, on July 8, 1960. They had 4 children – Jeffrey (Erin) Farmer of Middletown, Jennifer (Jeffrey) Jordan of Boulder City, NV, Jodi (Jerry) Williams of Litchfield, IL, and Joseph (Deb) Farmer of Fort Wayne, IN. He has 11 surviving grandchildren – Mitchell (Brittney) Billy of Dallas, GA, Amanda Billy of Orange, CA, Kyle (Esther) Farmer of Elkhart, Drew (Megan) Jordan of Biloxi, MS, Chase Farmer of Middletown, Madison Williams (Scott Lunte) of Jefferson City, MO, Nicole Jordan (Russ) Baade of Newbury Park, CA, DR. Samantha Farmer (Kalieb) Koelmel of Indianapolis, IN, Meagan Williams of New York City, NY, Derek Farmer of Fort Wayne, IN and Ryan Farmer of Middletown. And, 4 great grandchildren – Bristol Billy of Dallas, GA, Henry Farmer of Elkhart, William Koelmel of Indianapolis, IN, and Arthur Baade of Newbury Park, CA.
Bob is also survived by his half-sister, Darla and her husband Al Cheatham of North Carolina and 2 sister-in-laws, Jean (Ingram) Farmer of Lincoln and Mary (Layton) Farmer of Bloomington, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Bob was an avid hunter, a NASCAR and Lincoln Railers basketball fan and enjoyed playing Euchre. Later in life, he especially enjoyed watching his great grandson “Hotrod” Henry Farmer race quarter midgets. He was a member of the Elks Lodge, the American Legion, the Logan County Farm Bureau and the NRA. In 2000, at the age of 62, Bob decided to go into politics. He was elected to the Logan County Board where he served for 20 years on many committees, and as Board Chairman for 6 years.
Anyone close to Bob knows he knew how to have a good time and that he loved the precious time he spent with his children, grand and great-grand children. He was beloved, not only by his family and friends, but by the Logan County community where he was well respected for his hard work, decision making, and fairness; not to mention the fact that he could tell a good story.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents Russell and Helen, stepmother Juanita, his 2 brothers Russell and Roland, half-brother Larry, stepbrother Kenneth Paulsen, stepsister Patricia Paulsen Ritchhart Buckles, sister-in-law Carol Trail Farmer, sister-in-law Mary Wibben Paulsen, brother-in-law Clarence Ritchhart, bother-in-law Frank Buckles and grandson Brock Farmer.
Visitation will be Friday September 8th at Holy Family Church in Lincoln from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Funeral service will immediately follow at 7:15 pm.
Bob’s family is hosting a Celebration of His Life on Saturday September 9th at the American Legion in Lincoln from 12:00-3:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to American Legion of Lincon (Post 263) or American Legion of Middletown (Post 0672).
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