A Memorial visitation for Richard Doc, D.V.M will be held on Saturday, August 16th, 2025 from 11:00 AM- 1:00 PM at The Elliot-Gentry Carder Funeral Home, Cabool, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Willow Springs Alumni Association c/o the funeral home
Richard Wayne ‘Doc’ Stringer passed away Aug 9, 2025. He was born on March 24, 1931 in Willow Springs, Mo., to Harvey and Laree ‘LulaBell’ Stringer. Doc was the youngest of twelve children. He grew up in Willow Springs and attended school there. He excelled in sports, lettering in football, track, and basketball.
On December 15 1951, he married Mary Francis ‘Francie’ Protiva. Doc and Francie had two children, Frank and Lynn Stringer. Soon after marriage, Doc was drafted into the army and served in a tank battalion in Korea. Returning home, he attended the University of Missouri and received his degree as a veterinarian.
In 1960 Doc moved his family to Willow Springs to open a veterinary practice. During that year he was offered a partnership to build a new vet clinic in Cabool and moved the family there. He set up a large and small animal practice until his retirement. He then worked for the state agriculture department as a district vet and later assistant state vet until he retired.
Doc was close to his siblings and their children and spent many weekends traveling to Willow Springs to go from house to house to visit. He and Francie also enjoyed playing cards and traveling with friends and family. They hosted many family reunions on the 4th of July and Christmas. Each year Stringers would gather at Table Rock Lake for a week of lake sport and card playing. He was also a member of the Doghouse Poker Gang, a group of friends that met each Wednesday for a friendly game.
Doc was involved in several businesses, the biggest being Hillbilly Junction in Willow Springs. He was on the board of directors of the Cabool State Bank for over thirty years. He was a founding member of the Cabool Development Foundation that was involved in projects, including the formation and building of the Missouri Ozarks Community Health Clinic and building the Piney River Recreational Area and Montgomery Lake. Doc was also on the school board of the Cabool Schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s and served on the city council.
Doc’s main love, besides Francie, was his farm, which he bought in the early 1970s and improved the property. He turned to rotational grazing and raised cattle. He loved tending the cows, clearing the land, brush hogging, and planting different crops and trees. Even after moving to town he went to the farm every day to check the cows and work the farm. He and Francie also raised horses, building a large horse barn on the farm to train fox trotters. The farm bordered the Piney River and he and Francie fished often.
Doc was married to Francie until her death in 2023. He is survived by Frank and his wife Kennetha, Lynn of Cabool, grandchildren Cody Stringer, Miranda Eudaly, and Steve Glover, and a host of nieces and nephews and their families.
