Richard L. Showalter

Richard L. Showalter, 84, of Easton, passed away at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield at 8:42 p.m. on Friday, February 15, 2019. He was born November 23, 1934 in Crane Creek Township, Mason Co. to Alpha and Helen (Wallace) Showalter Beckman. He married Patricia Murdock on December 4, 1960 at the First Baptist Church in Havana. Mr.Showalter is survived by his wife, Patricia, of rural Easton; one daughter, Nancy Jean De Leon of Murfreesboro, TN; one son, Eric Richard (Laura) Showalter of Troy, MI; four grandchildren: Jacob and Ian De Leon and Charles and John Showalter. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Floyd and Harold Showalter. Mr. Showalter, with his wife, operated a family farm in Mason County from 1969 until 2013. While farming he raised row crops including corn, seed corn, soybeans, popcorn, sweet corn and potatoes. He also raised purebred Black Angus cattle. His family has deep roots in Mason County where he grew up in on a farm. Before returning to the farm, Mr. Showalter worked with multiple grain merchandising companies including Illinois Grain Corporation (now Growmark); O.K. Grain & Feed, as Elevator and Feed Mill Manager and Pillsbury Grain Company as River Elevator Assistant Manager and Grain Merchant. Mr. Showalter was also a Farm Manager for multiple families from 1965 until 2013. Mr. Showalter was a loved husband, father, grandfather and uncle. He was a fountain of knowledge and counseled advice as well as a smart and honorable businessman. Mr. Showalter graduated from Easton High School in 1952 and the University of Illinois in 1956 with a BS in Agriculture, where he was a charter member of Hoof and Horn. He served in the US Army from 1958 until 1960 in Korea as a telephone technician. He was active in many local government and agricultural boards and programs, including serving as Crane Creek Township Town Clerk 1975 – 1999; Member of Mason County Farm Bureau, serving as president 1978-81 and 1990-96; Mason County Farm Bureau Legislative Chairman 1981-1989; Illinois Farm Bureau Tentative Resolutions Committee; Illinois Farm Bureau District 10 Coordinator for CHIEF PROGRAM; Illinois River Sands Research Farm with Northern Illinois Regional Lab in Peoria; Manito Area Regional Economic Development Board; Imperial Valley (Mason and Tazewell County) Water Authority Advisory Board; Mason County Water Issues Committee; Sand Lake Committee – Mason County; C-Far – Agricultural Research Organization; American Legion; Illini BioEnergy Board Member; Central Illinois Regional Groundwater Committee and Mahomet Aquifer Consortium. He also attended church at Easton United Methodist Church. Visitation will be held at Hurley Funeral Home in Havana from 5 until 7 p.m. on Friday, February 22. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 23, also at the funeral home. Rev. Al Sample will officiate. Burial will follow the services at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Havana. Memorial contributions may be made to Easton United Methodist Church, University of Illinois Agricultural Program, Shriner’s Children’s Hospital or the donor’s choice. Online memorial messages may be left for the family at www.hurleyfh.com. Hurley Funeral Home in Havana is in charge of arrangements.