Fairbury – Herschel D. "Rusty" Leffingwell, 91, of Fairbury, departed this life to be with his Savior at 9:01am, June 5, 2016, at his residence.

A celebration of his life will be at First Presbyterian Church, Fairbury 10:00am, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Pastor Tom Krieger will be officiating.

He will be laid to rest in Graceland Cemetery, Fairbury with full military honors.

Visitation will be held from 4-7:00pm, Friday, June 10, 2016, at First Presbyterian Church, Fairbury.
Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury is in charge of arrangements.

He was born August 24, 1924, in Lawndale Township, Lexington, the son of Charles O. and Mary Baker Leffingwell.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two sons, Charles and Jerry Ray; his sister, and three brothers.

Herschel is survived by his wife, Imogene; one son, Dean (Becky) Leffingwell of Louisville, CO; four step-children, Linda (Larry) Michou, Barbara (Charles Brown) Rathbun both of Fairbury, Steve (Valorie) Curl of Forrest, and Janet Stauffer of Sterling, CO; one niece, Margaret VanNess of Lacon; one nephew, Ron Vermilyea of Streator; one great-niece, Debbie Rose of Bakersfield, CA; grandchildren include, Jennifer (Russ) Byrd of Chicago, Dr. Marcy (Rick) Willard of Broomfield, CO, Emily (Damian) Ashley of Boulder, CO, Tracy Leffingwell of LaFayette, CO, James (Jessica) Michou of Anchorage, AK, Jeff Michou of Anchorage, AK, Shane (Melissa) Rathbun of Lexington, KY, Heather Rathbun of Fairbury, Matt (Jayme) Curl and Jeff (Bridget) Curl both of Fairbury, Greg (Rachel) Curl of Chatsworth, Michele Curl of Forrest, Daryl (Lacy) McCormick of Commerce City, CO, Dusty (Roxie) McCormick of Crook, CO; and 21 great-grandchildren.

He attended grade school at Garber School in Yates Township. During his four years at Fairbury Township High School, he was very active in the strong music program; participating in band, boys chorus, mixed chorus and boys quartet. He was also active in FFA and 4-H. Following his graduation in 1942, he was drafted and chose the United States Navy.

After boot camp, he was stationed at Navy Pier and completed the Navy Diesel School training. He then volunteered for the Submarine Service and was sent to Submarine School in New London, CT. Upon completion he joined the Pacific Submarine Fleet and was based on Midway Island. In 1945 he separated from the Submarine Service and returned to the United Sates to attend Officers Training School. Following a refresher course at Princeton University, he was enrolled in Officer Training School at Bowling Green State University at Bowling Green, OH.

In October 1945, he married Louise Grant from N. Baltimore, OH. Three sons, Charles, Dean and Jerry Ray were born to that union.

In 1951, he founded Limestone Transit, Inc., a trucking company, and operated it for 28 years. Many of his upgrades and designs for improving the trucks are now standard equipment in the trucking industry. During that time, he also served as a member of the first Fairbury Swimming Pool Board. He spent five years on the Fairbury Cropsey School Board, was president of the Fairbury Copsey PTA, served as a leader of Cub Scout Pack #172, is a past commander of the American Legion John Joda Post #54, and a lifetime member of the Hap Nims VFW Post #9789.

In 1971, he married Imogene Herrin Curl. Starting in 1970, along with three others, they formed MAAC Distributors. They started handling the Miller Disc, along with some deep tillage equipment. They eventually sold equipment in most all states east of the Mississippi River. That was the beginning of the minimum tillage concept in farming, which still exists today.

After selling Limestone Transit, Inc. in 1979, he worked as the representative between Miller Mfg. and Sperry New Holland. After the decline of the tillage equipment market, Rusty became Sales Manager for the Effing Co. of Gurley, NE. They manufactured tractor cabs and big hay hauling units. Beginning in 1984, Rusty started representing various manufacturers of lawn and turf equipment. During that time, he attended Indiana University and gained his rating of Certified Professional Manufacturer's Representative, CPMR.

In 1989, he started Rusty's Ag Sales, which he retained until his retirement due to health issues in 2004. Rusty's Ag Sales designed, manufactured and sold specialty equipment for vegetable growers in the eastern United Sates and eastern Canada. He later worked as a temporary clerk at the IRS regional office in Bloomington. He was one of the original members of the Spence Farm Foundation Board of Directors.

Herschel accepted Christ as his Savior at age 14. Throughout his lifetime, he attended several churches. He served as an elder, served on various committees, and was a member of the choirs. He also taught Sunday School and was the director of church youth groups.

A longtime friend described him as the most compassionate person they had ever known.

Two of his fondest memories were when in 1978, he spent time working in Israel and had the opportunity to visit Bethlehem and to spend some quiet time at the Mount of Olives. During that time, he also worked in the fields behind the "Iron Curtain" in Hungary.

The other was a trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. Upon the return to Chicago, an angel of the Lord appeared beside him, to walk with him and hold his arm through the return reception in Midway Airport.

His favorite charity for a number of years was Children International. At his desk are pictures of four children that he had sponsored.

Memorials may be made to Children International, P.O. Box 219055, Kansas City, MO or directed to Duffy-Pils Memorial Home for forwarding. Other memorials may be made to Dominy Memorial Library or to the donor's choice of charity.