Roger Farrey

Roger Lester Farrey , Galena, Il. age 82 died suddenly on Tuesday, April 21st. He was born March 30,1938 in Benton, Wisconsin, the son of Thomas Lester and Anna (Downs) Farrey.  He graduated from Benton High School in 1957. After high school, he worked briefly as a produce manager in Delavan, Wisconsin and beveled mirrors at Nurre Mirror Company in Dubuque. He was hired in April of 1958 at John Deere Dubuque Works as an electrician. Roger served in the army from 1961 to 1963 during the cold war and wired Nike missile bases on the East coast. After serving in the army, he received a letter as a joke from a friend’s wife and her sister asking him to write to a girl in Galena. He met the penpal, Darlene Kirchner, at her front door and married her two years later on July 31st, 1965. After the service, he returned to John Deere and worked 17 years as an electrician and 17 years as an electrical and maintenance foreman. He retired in 1992 and opened Farrey’s Sharpening Service where he sharpened various blades and tools. He was an active member of Westminster United Presbyterian Church, where he served many years on the session, helped remodel the church, and did many repairs of all kinds. Roger was a member and PER (Past Exalted Ruler) of the Galena Elks Club, worked with the Boy Scouts for several years, and was a charter member of the Midwest Medical Center Health Club. He was very creative and loved working with his hands. He did many woodworking, mechanical, and electrical projects and made fantastic Halloween costumes through the years for his wife. After suffering a massive stroke in January of 2012, he spent his time doing large jigsaw puzzles, playing games and cards with his wife and exercising at the Midwest Medical Center Health Club. He never complained no matter how much pain or discomfort he suffered. He is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Darlene, his two sons, Clark (Dawn) of Henrico, VA, Russel (Amy) of Galena and a sister-in law, Dr, Julia Kirchner of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, that they raised after Darlene and Julia’s mother’s death, five grandchildren, Natalie, Brooke, Carly, Izabella and Logan and two sisters, Doris Blosch of Dubuque, Iowa and Mary Lou (Ed) Weaver of Darlington, Wisconsin and one brother, Ray of Benton, Wisconsin, many nieces and nephews and a sister-in-law Linda (Arnold) Carroll of Ottawa, Illinois. Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Lester and Anna, a sister, Joyce Roling, two brothers-in-law Earl Roling and Kenneth Blosch, a nephew Jon Roling and his in-laws, Ernest and Daisy ( McColley) Kirchner. He was very close to his father-in-law, who thought of him as the son he always wanted. Cremation rites have been accorded and a memorial service will be held at a later date after the COVID crisis has been mitigated. 
 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Roger Farrey, please visit our floral store.