L.E. Rufus Leon

BLOOMFIELD. L.E. “RUFUS” LEON, 101 of Bloomfield died March 26, 2009 at his home. Lawrence Ekins Leon was born July 10, 1907 in Davis County, Iowa to Frank and Mayme Ekins Leon. He married Wealtha Wellborn June 11, 1930, she preceded him in death January 18, 1976. He married Miriam L. Priest October 15, 1980 in Newton, Iowa. She preceded him in death March 1, 1999. He led the crew that installed the first telephone lines from Ft. Madison to Burlington. As an electrician for the City of Bloomfield, Mr. Leon installed the first lights at the Bloomfield High School football field and would climb each pole to turn the lights on and off for every football game. He owned and operated Leon Electric in Bloomfield. In 1956, he moved to Newton, Iowa where he was employed by Meisner Electric. He later joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 347 out of Des Moines, Iowa and received his “45 year member” pin in April 2008. He was the lead electrician during many construction projects at hospitals, schools and power plants thru out Iowa and the Midwest. In the early sixties, he spent several years in North Dakota during construction of the missile sites at Minot Air Force Base. He was often called upon to “trouble shoot” at major construction projects such as those at Caterpillar in Mossville and Pontiac, Illinois. He retired at age 73. He was a member of the Bloomfield Christian Church. He is survived by a son Larry (Sally) Leon of Washington, Illinois; daughter-in-law Shirley Leon of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; 8 grandchildren Blake Leon of El Reno, Oklahoma, Rhonda Wagner of North Liberty, Iowa, Traci Mitchell of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Lauri Davis, Larry Joe Leon, Jr.and Gary Leon all of Chillicothe, Illinois, Mark Leon of Washington, Illinois and Sarah Turner of East Peoria, Illinois; 2 sisters Florence Modrell and Marianna (Dean) Frymoyer both of Ottumwa, Iowa and a sister in law Betty Leon of Davenport, Iowa. He was preceded in death by his parents; wives; 2 sons Jerry Lee and Gene Leon; granddaughter Tami Sue Leon; grandson-in-law Nick Davis; 6 brothers Jack, Max, Van, Joe Dean, Robert and Carl Leon; a sister Helen Howell; 2 brothers-in-law Carl Modrell and Charles Lee Howell and 2 sisters-in-law Myrtle and Eldora Leon. Funeral services will be at 11 am Monday, March 30, 2009 at the Wagler Funeral Home in Bloomfield with Rev. James Wakelin officiating. Cremation will follow the service. Burial of the cremains will be in the IOOF Cemetery in Bloomfield at a later date. Visitation will begin at 9 am Sunday with the family present from 2-4 pm to greet friends. A memorial has been established to Hospice of Davis and Wapello counties.