January 23, 2023
A funeral will be held in Kingaroy on February 1 for former Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch secretary Doug Farmer OAM.
Doug was born in Gympie in February, 1924.
The funeral service is being held on what would have been Doug’s 99th birthday.
He joined the RAAF on July 6, 1942, and served in the South Pacific as a guard.
He was discharged on January 21, 1946, and returned to work on the family farm at Lower Wonga.
He then moved to Brisbane to be trained under the Post War Reconstruction Program where he became a qualified carpenter.
Doug worked for 17 years for Queensland Rail, first as a fettler and then as a porter at Kingaroy Railway Station.
He also worked for seven years for the PMG in Kingaroy, delivering telegrams and letters on a bicycle.
Doug had a special interest in supporting Legacy.
For more than 20 years, he regularly manned a street stall in Kingaroy to sell Anzac Day badges, Remembrance Day poppies and Legacy badges.
Many people will also recall Doug playing “Santa Claus” at past Kingaroy Christmas carnivals.
Doug was a Life Member of the Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch.
His yellow EJ Holden was a familiar sight around Kingaroy streets for many years as he drove about doing RSL welfare visits.
In 2009, Doug was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his service to war veterans and their families, and to the community of Kingaroy.
In 2017, the new RSL Villas in Markwell Street, Kingaroy, were named in his honour.
Family and friends have been invited to attend Doug’s funeral service, to be held in Virgo’s Funeral Home Chapel in Kingaroy, on Wednesday, February 1, from 10:30am.
In lieu of flowers, donations to RSL Queensland and Legacy Australia have been suggested.
Doug was the beloved husband of Thelma (dec’d) and Amy (dec’d); father and stepfather to Diane, Juliane, Wendy (dec’d), Carolyn, Kelvin, Garry, Noelene and David; and father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather to their families.
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