of Peoria, IL

February 26, 1937 - September 27, 2023

Chester C. Danehower, M.D. passed away on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at the age of 86.
He was born on February 26, 1937 in Memphis, TN to the late Chester C. Danehower Sr. and Gurrie Skelton Danehower. On January 4, 1958, Chester married George Ann Byrd in Hernando, MS. They had 64 wonderful years of marriage before her passing in November of 2022.
He was further preceded in death by his sister, Mary Frances Frisbie.
Chester is survived by his three daughters, Dana Liddon Baldwin, J. Lane (William P. II) Muzzarelli and Georgie Byrd Kastelic all of whom live in the Peoria area. He is also survived by six wonderful grandchildren, William (Tiffany Dimmick) Muzzarelli III, Toni (Josh) DeNap, Adam (Bridget) Baldwin, John (Hillary) Baldwin, Katie (Jordan) Greenway and Anna (Zachary Jacobs) Kastelic; six great-grandchildren, Genevieve Muzzarelli, August Baldwin, Addison Baldwin, Ellie DeNap, Noah DeNap and Owen Greenway and his sister, Patricia J. Johns of Saulsbury, TN.
Dr. Danehower was a high school graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, where he was captain of the boxing team and played end on the varsity football team. He subsequently received his Bachelor of Science degree from Tulane University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine. During his senior year of medical school, he joined the U.S.A.F. as a second lieutenant.
After medical school, he served a rotating internship at Fitzsimons General Hospital in Denver, CO. He then served in residency programs in internal medicine and in dermatology in San Antonio, TX at Wilford Hall U.S.A.F. Hospital and Brooke General U.S.A. Hospital, respectively. Upon completion of his residency in dermatology, he served as Chief of Dermatology at Torrejon Air Base in Spain and at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base.
Chester served in the U.S.A.F. for a little more than 10 years and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After leaving the military, he practiced dermatology at Carle Clinic in Champaign-Urbana, IL for almost three years before moving to Peoria to enter private practice, where he established Central Illinois Dermatology, S.C. He practiced for 32 years in Peoria.
He was also interested in teaching and served as an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine in Peoria for many years. In addition, he served as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and as a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine.
Chester was a staff member of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Methodist Medical Center and Proctor Hospital during his practice in Peoria.
He was very involved in the fight against socialized medicine and as such served as president of the Peoria Medical Society, Illinois Dermatological Society, American Society of Dermatology and Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. He was president of the Mid-State Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. For many years, Chester was a delegate from the Peoria Medical Society to the Illinois State Medical Society and an alternate delegate and delegate from the Illinois State Medical Society to the American Medical Association. He was also Secretary Treasurer of the Illinois State Medical Society.
Chester was a member of Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria North Rotary Club, Sons of the American Revolution and American Legion Post No. 0002.
During his lifetime, he also enjoyed fishing, sailing, building and flying radio controlled model airplanes, bird watching and traveling. He lived in Spain for three years and considered those years to be very special. Chester loved his family and was an ardent St. Louis Cardinals fan. He thought that Peoria was a wonderful place to live and practice medicine.
Finally, he was a strong believer in the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and the art of medicine, where the patient is treated as a whole human being and with the utmost respect.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675; Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741 or Grace Presbyterian Church, 8607 IL-91, Peoria, IL 61615.

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