University News

Dr. Russell Dohner Obituary

August 10, 2015

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MACOMB, IL – Funeral services for a physician who became a local legend because of his kind and inexpensive Schuyler County medical practice have been scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the Rushville First United Methodist Church.

Dr. Russell Dohner, 90, passed away Friday, Aug. 7 at Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville, IL.

Dohner was one of the first four pre-med students at Western Illinois Teacher's College and became the first doctor produced by Western Illinois University. He attended Western from 1946-1949 on the GI Bill, while living and working at Dodsworth-Piper-Wallen Funeral Home in Macomb.

After receiving his medical degree from Northwestern University, Dohner moved to Rushville in 1955, to practice medicine. He is said to have delivered more than 3,500 babies in Rushville and donated at least 10,000 trees to the community.

Dohner was named one of WIU's Distinguished Alumni Award recipients in 1990, and, in 1982, was recognized as an Alumni Achievement Award recipient. In 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from WIU, the highest award an individual can bestow on someone who has made significant contributions to his/her career and to Western.

Numerous statewide awards were also bestowed on Dohner, including serving as grand marshal of the 2013 Illinois State Fair Parade in Springfield. A bronze statue of his likeness was also added to Rushville's Central Park Square in 2013.

But it was his medical fees that began attracting national attention to Dohner's nearly 60-year medical career, starting in the 1970s, when he began charging $2 for an office visit. The fee was raised to $3 and stayed at $5 until his practiced closed in 2013. He was also known for making house calls in surrounding communities and treating patients who visited him at home.

Dohner is survived by two sisters, Doris Doris (Ronald) Cook of Industry, IL and Lydia Goodwin of Rushville, IL, and numerous other family members.

Memorials may be made to Culbertson Memorial Hospital Foundation, Rushville First United Methodist Church, Rushville Parks, Do Something, Inc. in Vermont, IL, Vermont Parks & Cemetery, Astoria Parks & Cemetery or to the WIU Foundation.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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