Ted S. Farner 1917 - 2003

FARNER, NEITER, MEARS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 4/7/2014 at 13:40:53

Ted S. Farner, 85, of Centerville, Iowa, formerly of Sioux City, died Wednesday, April 2, 2003, at Mercy Medical Center in Centerville.

Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Thomas Lange Funeral Home in Centerville, with the Rev. Giles Card officiating. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Mr. Farner was born in Stuart, Neb., on June 21, 1917, the son of Sophet and Louisa (Neiter) Farner. He graduated from Stuart High School and attended Omaha University and Wayne State University where he was an all conference guard in football.

He married June Mears in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 24, 1939, and she survives. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, in the European Theater.

After the service, he opened a warehouse for Farner-Bocken in Red Oak, Iowa. He then moved to Sioux City in 1948, where he opened another warehouse for Farmer Bocken. In 1968, he moved to Centerville and purchased Turner Wholesale, which became Farner Wholesale. He owned and operated the business until his retirement in 1998. He then sold Farner Wholesale to his son, Richard, and Farner-Bocken. Farner Wholesale sold products in a 100 mile radius in south central Iowa. In 1975 and 1976 he was president of the Iowa Association of Tobacco Distributors (IATD). He was the last survivor of the senior generation of the Farner Family. A family that was known through-out the Midwest in the wholesale business.

He was an avid golfer and a member of the Appanoose Country Club. He spent his winters in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he could play golf. He was a member of the American Legion, Landmark Masonic Lodge and Abu Bekr Shrine in Sioux City. He also was a member of the Mayflower Congregational Church, where he coached youth football teems and was a former president of the Sioux City Boat Club and Sioux City Rotary Club.

He is survived by his wife, June of Centerville; a son, Richard "Dick" Farner of Des Moines; four grandchildren, Chad Farner and his wife, Janet of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Todd Farner and his wife, Rebecca of Chicago, Ill., Gretchen Pilon of Duluth, Minn., and Jeffrey of Des Moines; two great-grandchildren, Rachael and Ethan Farrier; and a daughter-in-law, Bette Farner of Oskaloosa.

He was preceded in death by a son, David Michael Farmer; his parents; two sisters, Leslie Hewitt and Zana Menuey and five brothers, Frank, Floyd, Ben, Leo and Bill.

A memorial fund has been established to the First Presbyterian Church or may be mailed to Thomas Lange Funeral Home, P.O. Box 6, Centerville, IA
52544.