Harley Joseph Racer M.D.

Racer, Harley Joseph, MD age 87, died on March 21, 2012, in Bloomington, with his beloved wife of 65 years, Lauretta, at his side. He was preceded in death by his parents, the Rev. Harley Moline Racer and Margaret Jane Racer, his mother-in-law Vera Dunphy, and his siblings - David, Margaret (Crysler), Paul, James, and Grace Elizabeth (Welch). He was the beloved father of Catherine of Brookline, MA; Anne of Andover, MA; Peter of Minneapolis, MN; and Jane of Hinesburg, VT. He was the exceptional father-in-law of Thomas Rice, Gloria Olson, and David Cloutier. His grandchildren - Conor and Fiona Rice, Anna (Peter Skold) and Evan Racer, Peter and Asa Cloutier - adored him as much as he adored them. He also is survived by 17 nieces and nephews, as well as countless patients whom he treated and students whom he mentored during 52 years of medical practice. Harley's medical career began inadvertently when he served during World War II as a pharmacist's mate on a minesweeper in the South Pacific. He had intended to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the ministry, but his Navy war experience led him to enroll in the University of Minnesota Medical School after completing his undergraduate work at the U. Harley graduated from medical school as a family practitioner in 1952 and practiced in Gibbon and Stillwater, MN, before settling in Bloomington with his growing family in 1956. Bloomington was the quintessential post-war baby boomer community in the 1950s, and Harley's practice grew rapidly, as did his commitment to addressing the needs of his patients, both as individuals and as members of a family unit. Family practice in the 1950s was receiving recognition as an important facet of American medicine, and Harley was asked to develop and implement the family practice residency program at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. He also served as first director of the program, and, during his tenure, was named Teacher of the Year in Family Practice. In mid-career, Harley and Lauretta spent a year in Maine, where Harley served as director of the family practice program at Maine Medical Center. Returning to the Minneapolis metropolitan area in 1981, Harley practiced and taught family medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) for 25 years. He was on faculty at the U of M Medical School as an associate professor while teaching at HCMC. Shortly before he retired from family practice and teaching in 2004, Harley again was named Teacher of the Year in Family Practice. While raising a family in Bloomington, with four children in the public schools, Harley proudly served for eleven years on the Bloomington School Board. He often said one of the highlights of his service was voting for Title IX, which allowed girls to have the same access to organized sports as boys. Harley was committed to physical fitness and loved recreational sports: he was an active participant in running, biking, cross country skiing, and tennis, and he especially loved golfing with his brother Paul - an activity they shared well into their 80s. He also had a life-long love of music, particularly classical music and jazz, and he sang with his wife in the Minneapolis Bach Society chorus and various church choirs. He shared a great love of poetry with his sister (and poet), Grace Elizabeth Welch. Harley's impact on family and friends, patients and students, will live on in the compassionate interactions we have with each other over the coming months and years. His contributions to the profession he loved will be long remembered. A celebration of Harley's wonderful life will be held at Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, 2200 Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, on Sunday, April 22. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 2 p.m. the service will begin at 3 p.m. A reception will follow immediately after the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those who wish to honor Harley's life make donations to the Union Gospel Mission of St. Paul, the Minnesota/ North Dakota Alzheimer's Foundation, or Oak Grove Presbyterian Church of Bloomington. www.Washburn-McReavy.com Werness Brothers Chapel 952.884.8145

Tributes

Harley Joseph Racer M.D.

April 15, 2012

Tributes

Harley Joseph Racer M.D.

April 15, 2012

We are here for you 24x7

Call us and get help now

(612) 377-2203