22 Thursday, November 14, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
Dr. Thomas Farchone, a mainstay at
Oaklawn for the past quarter of a cen-
tury, will officially retire on Dec. 18
after practicing medicine for 35 years.
Raised in northeast Detroit,
Farchone graduated medical school
from Automomous University in
Guadalajara, Mexico and completed
his residency in Family Practice at
Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn.
Farchone has been a staple in the
Marshall and Battle Creek communi-
ties since 1993. He initially began
practicing in Battle Creek when he
joined Dr. Walk’s practice. Then
in 1997, Farchone began practicing
in Marshall, when he took over Dr.
Burris’ practice. Finally in 2000,
Farchone joined the Oaklawn family.
Since working with Oaklawn,
Farchone has worked in several
offices, including the Oaklawn Life
Improvement Center, the Wright
Medical Building, and the Beadle
Lake Oaklawn Medical Group office.
He has been easing into retirement
with a reduced clinic
schedule the last year,
and now he is excited to
fully grasp his retirement
years. After celebrating
his 70th birthday, he is
looking forward to trav-
eling with his wife of
40 years, Kathy, starting
with a trip to Alaska. He
is also looking forward
to spending time with
his four grandchildren
and spending some more
time on his passion for
ministry at Victory Life
Church.
When you ask Farchone what he
will miss most about practicing medi-
cine full time, he will tell you without
skipping a beat that it is the relation-
ships he has been able to form with
his patients.
“They’re not just looking for a doc-
tor, they are also looking for a friend;
someone to care aboutthem,” he said.
After reading the sever-
al pages of reviews from
Farchone’s patients, it is
clear that he has made a
difference in hundreds of
lives, spanning genera-
tions.
“I’ve developed good
friendships with a lot
of patients,” he said.
“I delivered babies for
seven years and now
I’m taking care of those
people as adults and tak-
ing care of their children.
Taking care of multiple generations,
that has been very rewarding, and I’ll
miss that the most. I am taking care
of a patient now who I delivered 28
years ago, and I still take care of his
parents and his grandmother.”
Farchone’s influence reaches well
past the Marshall and Battle Creek
greater area.
“I still take care of patients who liveup North, live in Florida, California
and North Carolina; they still come
back to see me as their primary care
physician,” he said.
As he finishes his lengthy career,
Farchone said it has been a “privilege
serving my patients over the past 25
years at Oaklawn.”
“I’m so thankful to God for entrust-
ing me with the physical, emo-
tional and spiritual care of my many
patients,” he said. “As a family phy-
sician, it is very rewarding to have
cared for patients from newborns to
100 years of age. It has been an honor
to be there for my patients to listen,
guide, treat, inspire and encour-
age them in their life’s journey for
healthy living. Oaklawn has been a
wonderful place to work, and they
have provided great support in our
quest to deliver great patient-centered
care to our community.”
— John HendlerDr. Thomas FarchoneLong-time Oaklawn doctor to retire in December
The 71st anniversary of the
German memorial service will be
celebrated Sunday, Nov. 17, at
Fort Custer National Cemetery in
Augusta.
The service will take place at
2 p.m., said spokesperson Randy
O’Neil. The ceremony is held
on Germany’s Day of National
Mourning, Volkstrauertag.
This year’s memorial service at
the German POW gravesites in
Section B of the national cemetery
goes back to the old Fort Custer Post
Cemetery and the memorial service
held on Memorial Day 1953, O’Neil
explained.
Congressman Paul Shaeffer had
just returned from a trip to Germany,
where he met with German
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
Shaeffer called his friends at
American Legion Post 54 and asked
that the 26 German graves also be
decorated with flags.
Post Commander J. Addington
Wagner and post secretary Duane
Brigstock contacted Chancellor
Adenauer’s office in Bonn, Germany,
German memorial service to take place Nov. 17
The annual German memorial service at Fort Custer National Cemetery will
be held Sunday, Nov. 17. Photo providedto seek his help in obtaining small
German flags. Arrangements weremade for the flags to be made by
German-American women living inthe Detroit area.
Publicity of this tribute was not
limited to the U.S. and Germany, but
in many other countries, as well.
“American veterans honored
their former adversaries because
they were men whose government
had called them to defend their
homeland, as men have been doing
throughout history, and by honoring
those 26 graves, they were honoring
fallen men of all nations all over the
world,” said O’Neil.
The 4,000 German prisoners of war
that were housed in several camps
at Camp Custer from 1943-46 were
working on farms and vineyards
in this area. After their return to
Germany, many of them returned to
the U.S., and every year, several of
them attend the annual ceremony.
Many clubs throughout the
Midwest will be represented to
express their support and hope for
world peace, said O’Neil.
More information can be found by
contacting O’Neil at (269) 303-9994
or [email protected].
— Ann Pulsipher