Leroy "Le" Russell Yaeger, age 78, of O'Fallon Township, Ill., born November 27, 1939 in St. Louis, Mo., died Wednesday July 25, 2018 at his home.

Le grew up in O'Fallon, graduated from O'Fallon Township High School in 1957, and served in the US Army. He attended BAC and spent a few years in the plumbing business before returning to school at SIU Carbondale where he earned his B.S. degree in Finance and Economics in 1968. Thus began his 50-year career as a stock broker and financial advisor. He began working for Huntleigh Securities in 1991, where he and his wife Debbie made a good team, serving their clients.

Le was a 27-year member of the O'Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce and had served on the Board of Directors. He was a founding member of the Mid-America Bank & Trust Co., and had served on the Board of Directors for the former Belleville Mental Health Foundation. He was an active member and past president of the O'Fallon Rotary Club, where he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow. Le was instrumental in the restoration and development of the Katy Cavins Community Center, making it a gathering place for many families and children over the years.

Le was a member of the Tancred Chapter of the Order of Demolay, Legion of Honor & the Order of Chevalier. He also served in various positions within those Orders. He was a Charter member of the Black Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, starting in the Color Guard and eventually becoming Color Guard Captain. After being a Corps member from September 1953 thru 1962, he served on the Black Knights Board of Directors and was a Corps instructor until 1979. Those days with his Brothers were some of his very best memories, even as he approached his final days.

Le loved his community and was proud of his family's heritage in O'Fallon, maintaining ownership of his family's home, a city-designated historic landmark. Le was a generous man, who loved a good laugh, a funny limerick, a great joke. He relished pulling off pranks. A word often used to describe him was "loyal" ~ to his friends, his family and his beliefs. He was a loving and supportive father who cherished his daughter and wife. In Debbie he found a good teammate and an adventurous spirit with whom he accomplished great things. He will be missed by so many whose lives he touched.

The Yaeger family expresses gratitude to many friends and caregivers who have been supportive during Le's illness, especially their long-time friend and Sales Assistant Elaine Turner, friend Brad McMillin, the wonderful ladies of Visiting Angels Home Healthcare, and the many doctors and health professionals who strove to enhance his quality of life.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers and other gifts, that memorial donations be made to The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy Fund (online at www.bu.edu/cte/ ) or The Rotary Foundation (online at www.rotary.org ). Donations will also be accepted at the funeral  home.

He was preceded in death by parents Leroy William Yaeger and Margaret Elisabeth, nee Schuetz, Yaeger; his father-in-law Joseph A. Wuebbels, Jr., brothers-in-law James Wuebbels, and Theodore Amigdalos.

Surviving are his wife Debra Ann, nee Wuebbels, Yaeger, whom he married September 19, 1987; his daughter Lauren Rachel (Zach Mages) Yaeger of Raleigh, N.C., step-sons Jason (Victoria) Kukorola and their daughters Mia, Elle, and Ava, of St. Louis, Mo., and Chad Kukorola of Dayton, Ohio; sister Paula J. Amigdalos of Kenosha, Wisc., his mother-in-law Lorraine Wuebbels of Mascoutah; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Connie and Ray Niacaris of Laverne, Calif., Jane and Dale Engel of New Athens, Ill., and Mark Wuebbels of Belleville, Ill., numerous nieces and nephews, and many good friends.

Visitation: The family will receive friends from 3:00 – 8:00 pm, Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at Wolfersberger Funeral Home, 102 W. Washington St., O'Fallon.

Funeral:  2:00 pm, Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at O'Fallon First United Methodist Church, 504 E. Highway 50, O'Fallon, Ill., with Rev. Don Long officiating.