Merijo Farley Anderson

Merijo Farley Anderson was born on July 13, 1940 to Charles and Tonii Farley. Growing up in DeKalb, Illinois with her eight siblings she attended St. Mary’s and graduated from DeKalb High School in 1958.

It was at DHS that Merijo met the love of her life. After a five year courtship,Gerner and Merijo began the adventure of a lifetime as they tied the knot on August 20, 1960.

Merijo, a devout Catholic, remained very active in the church serving as both a greeter and Eucharistic minister. She held true to her small town values of caring for the others, advocating for children and modeling love and equity for all. She also had her sights on exploring the world outside of Illinois. From traveling to San Francisco and Japan in the 60s to visiting Gerner’s birthplace in Norway in the 70s and Ireland in the 90s, she was always up for an adventure. Traveling to over 35 different states, the family trips to Mexico and Hawaii were some of her favorites. She wasn’t one to sit by and watch, but instead she went zip lining through the treetops, white water rafting on the rapids and went tequila tasting in Mexico just to name a few of her activities.

A natural born mom, she supported her 3 children; Bradley, Erin and Nicole (Nikki) with years of cheering from the bleachers at sporting events and applauding enthusiastically at band concerts. If she beamed with pride from her kids, she lit up whenever the topic turned to her three grandchildren Tina, Anthony and Joe. From playing baseball in the backyard with the boys or being pampered with Tina at the spa, she loved spending as much time with the grandkids as she could.

Merijo passed away October 22, 2024 after a brief & brave battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband Gerner Anderson, son Bradley and daughter Erin, all of whom currently reside in Surprise, Arizona. Her daughter, Nicole and her loving husband, Tony Valenza of Plainfield, made her the proud Mama to Tina, Anthony and Joe. In addition, she is survived by brothers James, Terry, Larry, and Charley Farley. She was a caring and loving aunt to many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents Charles and Antonia Farley, sisters Karen Lyons and Patricia McCabe and brothers Michael Farley and Kevin Farley.

She will be celebrated in private services with family.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?frequency_selected=0&dedication=1&sc_dcm=58700008008698866&sc_cid=kwp&sl=memorial-gift&ds_rl=1290690&ds_rl=1291300&ds_rl=1285465&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4Oe4BhCcARIsADQ0csnxbgyYG8-oObWFt740jUpK8vUWx9oaS-DdCOvqwdjtb6c2DXano28aAlEbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds