At 95, Albert L. Waller of Newman, IL was a rarity in agriculture in that he not only remembered farming with live horses pulling the implements, but he also farmed the same piece of rental property near Newman for 60 years.

Farming was not only his livelihood, but his life. Whether it was talking shop at the restaurant in Brocton or watching the markets for grain and livestock each day, he was the epitome of someone who loved his work and loved doing it well.

On Monday, February 16, 2015 the area lost one of its oldest active farmers when Albert, also know by many as "Ab" died at his home in Newman.

He attended the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Villa Grove, IL.
Ab was a member of the VFW 3637 in Oakland, American Legion Post 977 in Brocton, and the Edgar County Farm Bureau.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with the Rosary recited preceding at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, February 19, 2015,  Stewart & Carroll Funeral Home in Paris. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, February 20, 2015,  St. Mary's Catholic Church in Paris. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery in Paris.
Memorials may be made to the Brocton American Legion Post 977 or the Auxillary of the Brocton American Legion Post 977.

Albert was one of seven spirited children born on a farm south of Redmon on August 4, 1919, to the late Leonard and Margaret Ryan Waller.

He married Kathryn Carroll on February 20, 1950 and she preceded him in death December 12, 1982.

Albert is survived by his daughters, Mary Waller of Newman and Carolyn Gordon of Wildwood; and his brother Harold Waller of Paris. He was also preceded in death by two infants; son-in-law Tony Gordon; brothers, Leo, Raymond, Eugene; and sisters, Eileen Smith and Loretto Nagorka.

Albert attended a one-room country school named after the Wallers and graduated from Redmon High School in 1938. He and brother, Eugene, went into the U.S. Army together in 1942 when World War II broke out and they were discharged in 1945 when the war was over. After the war, he began farming with his older brother, Leo, and later with younger brother, Harold. Albert continued farming south of Newman on his own in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Albert purchased and farmed the family farm near Redmon that had been in the Waller family for more than 100 years.