LaVerne E. Dooley, 93, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, December 23.
Services will be private with Pastor John Nordstrom officiating. Burial will be at Oakwood Memorial Park in Ottawa. A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held at a later date.
Mr. Dooley was born on October 30, 1927 in Streator to Elmer and Christine (Wisneski) Dooley. He was a 1946 graduate of Streator High School. He married Leona Ruth Darm on June 4, 1949 at Park Presbyterian Church in Streator. She preceded him in death on January 7, 2011.
He is survived by three children, Bradford (Rhonda) Dooley of Kildeer; Linda Kay (Roger) Walter of Marseilles and David (Janet) Dooley of Highlands Ranch, CO; a daughter-in-law Peggy Dooley of Tuttle, OK; a sister, Jeanne Modesitt of Ottawa, and a brother, William Dooley of Ottawa.
He leaves behind 11 grandchildren, Lee (Joanne) Dooley, Zachary (Stacy) Dooley, Joshua (Holly Renton) Dooley, Jacinda (Jonathon) Olson, Melissa (Jonathan) Halter, Robin (Richard) DeCamp, Justin (Jenna) Dooley, Adam (Brooke) Walter, Kerri (Jason) Walter Blunk, Ted (Cynthia) Walter, Anthony Walter, Saffron Walter, and a step-grandchild, Brandon (Barbara) Walter.
14 great-grandchildren and 2 step-great-grandchildren also survive, with another to debut in January.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by his first-born son, Allan Lee Dooley and a sister, Doris Iverson.
LaVerne was a self-made man. He began driving a semi-truck for the G & D Mfg. Co. in Streator while he was still in high school, making $.65 an hour. Following a stint in the army he became a traveling salesman for the King & Hamilton Implement Company in Ottawa. In 1957 he began selling insurance for State Farm out of his home and proceeded to become quite successful in that endeavor. He was an agent for 63 years, and had at times achieved President’s Club status, which includes the top 50 agents nationwide. He had been a Lifetime President’s Club agent since 1992.
Verne was a young Jaycee and a member of the Kiwanis Club for many years. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ottawa. He was a crazy duck hunter in his younger years and loved to take his boys hunting and fishing. He enjoyed an annual fishing trip to Bemidji Minnesota, where he had been angling since he was a young boy. In his later years he planted walnut trees on his farms
as a hobby.
Verne had a zest for life that kept him young. He always said “the best is yet to be.” He seldom spent money unless he was purchasing farm land. He never retired from the insurance business and could be found at his office every day. He never met anybody that he didn’t try to sell insurance to. He especially liked selling crop hail insurance.
Honorary Pallbearers will be grandsons Lee, Zachary, Joshua and Justin Dooley and Adam, Ted, Anthony and Brandon Walter.
He was laid to rest in the Garden of the Last Supper.