Meet your neighbor Lewis (Lee) Moore of rural Blandinsville.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
Meet your neighbor Lewis (Lee) Moore of rural Blandinsville.
Lee was born in Macomb and raised on the family farm 4 miles south of Raritan.
His parents are Karen and the late Lewis Moore. Grandparents were the late Harvey and Bertha Moore and the late Henry and Ruth Hobby, who all lived in the Blandinsville area most of their lives.
Lee and his wife Mindy (Endicott) Moore have been married for 17 years.
Their family includes, two sons, Austin and his wife Debanie who live in Pocatello, Idaho and are expecting Lee and Mindy's first grandchild.
Jackson lives in Rockdale. Two stepsons, Chris Schmidt lives in Champaign and Nick Schmidt and his wife Ashley in Thomasboro.
Lee's siblings include Leyona Wiley of Macomb, Lynne Moore-Vegh of Ashburn, VA and the late Layne McKee of Bushnell.
Lee attended Northwestern High School in Sciota, graduated with the ‘Class of '89,' attended Joliet Jr College in Joliet and received his associates degrees in Agriculture production and Swine confinement management.
Following college Lee worked at Kellogg Farms in Yorkville, IL in a hog confinement and moved home in 1994 to farm with his father and uncles, (The Moore Brothers.) He farmed with the brothers for 18 years and then started to manage the family farm after their retirements in 2012, and has been a self-employed farmer ever since.
Hobbies in his younger days was being an avid slow pitch softball player and bowling. Lee said, "Now I'm little on the lazy side, watching movies, sports, but do a fair amount of volunteering in the area."
During his adult life, Lee has been involved with many diverse types of clubs, organizations, departments, or businesses.
He has coached multiple sports, tee-ball, little league, pony league baseball. He was an assistant high school football coach at West Prairie High for 3 years, 4 years head coach of 5th and 6th grade basketball at West Prairie Jr High, and 6 years JV coach at West Prairie High School. He was township trustee 8 years for Blandinsville Township. Until last April Lee was a school board member for West Prairie School District for 8 years. He was on the board at Farmers Elevator in Sciota until the merger with Farmers Grain of Roseville, where he currently is a board member and Vice President.
Currently Lee is serving on the Oak Lane and Oak Wood Health Care Board of Directors; Blandinsville Fire and Rescue Department; Raritan Fire Department serving as assistant chief; and the Stronghurst/Raritan ambulance service as an EMT. Lee said, "receiving my National EMT license was one of the most proudest days of my life. And I have been, as of this date, on 130 runs for 2021".
When time permits they enjoy going to Destin, Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama for vacation. They also go to the Ozarks a fair amount during the summer.
Keeping up with the tradition of hosting the Raritan Fire Department fireworks on his family farm, which has been held approximately 37 times since 1980 is important to Lee.
A favorite quote of Lee's is "It takes volunteers to make a great community." When asked about the effects of COVID, he said, "As far as farming, COVID has not affected me, but as far as the Emergency services it has. I hate wearing masks, but I can honestly say I have not been sick with COVID and I know that my crew has hauled patients that has had it. The PPE's (personal protective equipment) has done the job for me and I have been vaccinated too, so with those combinations I feel I have been safer from COVID."