H. Holsapple

H. Lee Holsapple, 80, retired Sheriff of Macon County, passed away January 15, 2017 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur.Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, January 18 in Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Home, Decatur. Visitation will be held after 4:00 PM, Tuesday, January 17 at the funeral home. Burial will be in Macon Cemetery, with military rites by the Macon County Honor Guard, American Legion Post 72, and the U.S. Navy. Lee was born February 2, 1936 in Sullivan, IL the son of Dale L. and Mary E. (Pifer) Holsapple. He proudly served in the United States Navy and received extensive law enforcement training from Northwestern University, the University of Illinois and the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. He married Mary Ann Felty in Memphis, TN, while they were both serving in the U.S. Navy.Lee had a long and proud career with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office. He began his career in October, 1964, quickly being appointed to assistant shift commander in May, 1965 and then promoted to sergeant in September, 1966. He was promoted again to Lieutenant at the age of 35 on September 26, 1969 and finally to Captain in August, 1975 where he assisted in all major felony investigations and conducted the firearms training program for the Sheriff’s Department. He first ran for Macon County Sheriff in 1986 and was re-elected in 1990 and 1994, retiring December 1, 1998.After his retirement as Sheriff, Lee enjoyed fishing in Canada with his brothers, horseback riding and gardening, mowing grass on his beautiful farm, woodworking and reading western novels. He was a member of Lancaster-Dunn American Legion Post #72 and South Macon Lodge #467 AF&AM. In 2016, he proudly received the Penny Severns Integrity Award from the Macon County Democrats and the Jefferson Jackson Club.Lee is survived by his wife of 59 years, Mary Ann; daughters, Theresa Faelte of New York, NY, Barbara (Robert) Decelles of Burlington, WI, and Brenda Holsapple (Mark Svendsen) of The Dalles, OR; nephew, Monte (Cheri) Holsapple of Macon; brothers, Ivan (Connie) Holsapple of Florida, and Robert Holsapple of Milton, IA; grandchildren: Jacqueline Berry (fiancé Craig Maslowski), Timothy (Josephine) Halsema, Jaime (Kyle) Albrecht; great grandchildren, Dale and Tage Albrecht and Madison Von Smithenberry; special friends, Mike Horve and Rick Bright, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and other cherished relatives.He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, one sister, and a son-in-law, Howard Halsema. “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway” -- John Wayne "
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