Fairbury - Reuben Edward Huber, 96, formerly of Fairbury, passed away at 5:45am, Thursday Sept. 13, 2018 in Morton.

Reuben was born May 26, 1922 to William and Carrie Sutter Huber on their farm southwest of Fairbury.  He graduated from Fairbury Township High School in 1940 and enrolled at Bradley University with the aid of a baseball scholarship.  College was interrupted in 1942 when Reuben enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and he served as a Sergeant in the Australian and Philippine theaters of WWII until 1945.  He returned to Bradley and putting athletics aside, he worked as a bottler at Pabst and a welder at LeTourneau to pay his own way and to send his share of support to his widowed mother. Reuben graduated in 1947 with a BS in Industrial Engineering.

Living in Peoria brought Reuben into a circle of friends including the D.A. Hoerr family, and on August 22, 1948 Reuben and Marie Katherine Hoerr were married.  He worked in the office and in the field for Hoerr's Nursery as Marie and he started a family.  All of their children survive: Bruce (and Joyce) Huber of Morton, Grace Huber of Chicago, Steve (and Bonnie) Huber of Carmel IN, Jean Wathen of Littleton CO, Donna Eater of Peoria, Jim (and Jean) Huber of Peoria, Ray (and Julie) Huber of Normal, Ross Huber of Shelbyville, Susan (and Bryan) Shields of Gibson City and Janice (and Dr. Richard) Elliott of Springfield MO; plus 17 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.  Marie passed away on May 5, 2013; and Reuben was also preceded in death by brothers Leroy Huber and Robert Huber, and sisters Wilma Huber, Pauline Rocke, Lorene Kloter and Edith Huette. He is survived by sister Emma Lou Steffen of Normal, sister-in-law Doris Huber of Bloomington and sister-in-law Clara Huber of Eureka.

Reuben and Marie moved from Peoria to Fairbury in 1954 with the first four of what would become their family of 10.  In 1962, they purchased a fledgling men's shop that grew to be Huber's Clothing. For over 30 years, the couple and their family dressed the community with men's, women's and children's wear, while employing several full-time staff and many part-time students.  Reuben volunteered for many civic roles including the Fairbury-Cropsey School Board, Fairbury Hospital Board, Fairbury Swimming Pool Board and the Fairbury Association of Commerce, which recognized him in 1978 as Fairbury's Man of the Year. He had a disarming sense of humor, and weekly submitted a short column of one-liner jokes to the Fairbury Blade entitled "Try This for Size."  Reuben and Marie closed their business in 1993 and retired to a new and smaller home in Fairbury.  Then in 2008 they returned to her hometown and the assisted living of Apostolic Christian Skylines in Peoria.  In 2010, Reuben moved to the Evergreen wing of Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton to deal with worsening Lewy Bodies Dementia. His family will be ever grateful for their skillful and loving care.

Reuben believed in Christ and lived to honor God.  He was a member of the Apostolic Christian Church, where he served as the Fairbury congregation's Sunday School Superintendent and teacher for a time.  Funeral services will be at 10:00 AM on Monday, September 17, 2018, at the Apostolic Christian Church in Fairbury.  Visitation will be this Sunday, September 16, 2018, from 2 – 5 PM at the Duffy-Pils Memorial Home in Fairbury, and from 9:00 to 9:45AM on Monday at the Church.  Burial will be in the Fairbury Apostolic Christian Cemetery.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Apostolic Christian Church in Fairbury, Apostolic Christian Skylines, Peoria or to Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton.

An online registry is available at www.duffypilsmemorialhome.com .