LARRY BADER

Larry Wilton Bader, D.O. 83, passed away surrounded by his loving family on November 1, 2021, after a brief illness. He was born February 1, 1938, to Wilma Alice (Honaker) and Hilburn Wilton Bader of Canton, Mo.

He graduated from Canton High School in 1956 and Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo. In 1965 he graduated from KCOS, the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery in Kirksville, Mo. His osteopathic career spanned 50 years. He interned in Carson City, Mich., was in family practice for four years in St. Johns, Mich., and for 7-1/2 years the night emergency room physician in Carson City, Mich. He then returned to KCOM in Kirksville to teach in the OTM (osteopathic theory and methods) department for 12 years. For the following four years he worked at the Spine Rehab Center in Columbia, Mo., and then went into private practice, Columbia Osteopathic Clinic for 23 years at Doctor’s Park in Columbia, retiring in 2015. He often remarked upon how much his patients meant to him - they truly were his friends.

Larry loved music, especially jazz, having played alto/baritone saxophone in several bands over the years. He was an avid reader and in his later years shared jokes with everyone he encountered. He loved his home surrounded by woods and wildlife and adored a lifetime of pets including his beloved dogs Jazz and Lola.

Most of all he loved Carole (Dykstra), his wife and soulmate, together since they were 16 years of age and their very special family: Daughter Alyce Cooley (Jim) of Columbia, granddaughter Jordan Ferguson (Carter), great-granddaughter Laine Ferguson and granddaughter Brooke Cooley, son Eric J.W. Bader, D.O., grandson Davis W. Bader (Abbie Price), great-grandson Llewyn W. Bader and grandson Jesse Bader, all of the St. Louis area.

Larry is survived by two sisters: Vicki Leftwich of Canton, Mo., and Jan Moncrief (Aubrey) of Maryville, Tenn.

Memorials are suggested to two non-profits close to Larry’s heart, The Spay Neuter Project, 206 Austin Ave.,1st floor, Columbia, MO 65203 or www.spayneuterprojectmo.org and “We Always Swing” Jazz Series, 21 N. Tenth St., Columbia, MO 65201 or www.wealwaysswing.org.