Ernest L. Bauer, M.D. August 20, 1922 - April 5, 2015 Biography Ernest L. Bauer, M.D. Born August 20, 1922, he was son of Theodore Bauer and Lulu Layman. His mother died when he was 13 months and he was raised by his grandparents, John and Verda Bauer. He graduated from Benton Township High School in 1940 where he was a member of the conference football track team. He made Illinois All State Football Team as tackle in 1940. He received football scholarship from University of South Carolina where he graduated with a B.S. in pharmacy in 1944. At South Carolina in 1943 he was All Southern Conference selection. He was the 24th round draft pick of the Washington Redskins in 1944. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois where he played on their football team coached by the renowned coach Paul Brown. He was starting guard in the 1944 Great Lakes team that ranked 17th in the final AP college poll. He had a great memories of playing at Northwestern football stadium because it was the only game that his father was able to attend. He was sent to the University of Kansas Medical School under U.S. Navy V12 program in 1944. He married Lorma Ludwig in 1947 and they were married for 68 years. He graduated from medical school in 1948 and interned at U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland California where their first child, daughter Beverly Smith, J.D. (wife of Kenneth Smith, M.D. ) was born in 1949. Dr. Bauer served on General Morton Troop Ship during the Korean War and often marveled at how the ships passed through the Panama Canal. He considered himself fortunate to have been transporting troops rather than serving on the ground during the war. After he was discharged from the Navy in 1951, he moved to Blue Island, Illinois and became a partner in the Pronger Smith clinic and practiced there for thirty eight years. As a general practitioner, he assisted with surgeries, delivered babies and made house calls. Another daughter, Barbara Bauer, M.D., was born in 1952 and a third daughter, Blythe Bauer was born in 1953. The family moved to Palos Heights in l963. A devoted family man, he could be seen ballroom dancing with his wife or helping his daughters learn to do twisting back flips on their trampoline in the backyard. He and his wife enjoyed playing bridge for most of their married life. After retiring, he and his wife moved to Northfield, Illinois. He has three grandchildren, Nathan Smith, Jeffrey Smith and Nicole Neubarth. Visitation Thursday, April 9, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm, funeral service Friday April 10, 11:00 am at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Boulevard at Old Orchard Rd. Skokie. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, memorials to, Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. 10301 McKinstry Mill Road, New Windsor, MD 21776-7903 would be appreciated. >From Donnellan Family Funeral Home Website Skokie, IL Also published in Benton Evening News 8 Apr 2015