Obituary: Robin Franklin Ledbetter
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[On Sept. 14, 2011, Robin Franklin Ledbetter passed away and went to be with the Lord Jesus at the age of 84 years.
He was born on July 6, 1927, in Hardin County near Karbers Ridge, the youngest son of Milas Ledbetter and Dora Jane Ledbetter nee Carnett. He graduated from Equality Township High School in 1943, the valedictorian of his class. He received a scholarship from Southern Illinois University, which he attended for two years prior to his 1945 induction into the U.S. Army. He served his country during World War II. After the war, he completed his baccalaureate studies with a major in mathematics at Southern Illinois University. He taught at Neoga High School from 1949 until his re-Induction into the U.S. Army in 1953. He was stationed in Germany during the Korean Conflict. He completed a master's degree and subsequently an advanced certificate from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He was the principal of Equality High School for several years and was later the superintendent of North Wamac School in Wamac. He was the author of "Blue John Country: The Way it Was in Southern Illinois."
On July 24, 1961, he married Patsy Joyce Ledbetter nee Folks, his wife of 51 years, who survives. He is also survived by his daughter, Janee Marie Dobson nee Ledbetter; son-in-law, Wallace Dobson of Urbana; and grandson, Noah Dobson of Urbana; son, Frank Robin Ledbetter, Attorney at Law (principal of Ledbetter Law Firm, LLC in St. Louis, Mo.); daughter-in-law, Rosaleen Mary Ledbetter nee Baggot; granddaughter, Marrisa Joy Ledbetter; and granddaughter, Veronica Rose Ledbetter of Ladue, Mo.; sister-in-law, Berneice Herriott of Champaign; niece, Carol Anne McNamara; nephew-in-law, Robert McNamara of Broken Arrow, Okla.; as well as three great-nieces.
He was preceded in death by his beloved parents; and beloved brother Carl Ledbetter.
He was a fifth generation Southern Illinoisan, the great-great-grandson of Henry C. Ledbetter, who moved to what is now Hardin County circa 1802. He was also the great-great-grandson of Anna Hobbs Bigsby nee Pierce, the Hardin County resident and subject of Judge E. N. Hall's book "Ballads from the Bluffs," who was credited with discovering the cause of milk sickness.
From his youth and during much of his adulthood he was an avid houndsman and fox hunter. He also was a bird hunter and beagler for many years.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, at Reed Funeral Chapel in Harrisburg. The Rev. Ronald Ledbetter and the Rev. Arthur Austin, Jr. will officiate; burial will follow in Good Hope Cemetery, Karbers Ridge. Military graveside rites will be conducted by the Harrisburg American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and National Guard. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, at Reed Funeral Chapel in Harrisburg. Condolences may be sent to the family through the obituary page at the Internet site www.reedfuneralchapel.com.