Newton Lair Halterman

Newton Lair Halterman, 90 years old, of Rushville passed away peacefully on December the 9th in Rushville. The son of Newton Lair (Newt) Halterman and Freda (Morgan) Halterman, Lair was born on February 1st, 1935. He attended Webb school and graduated from Rushville High School in 1953. Lair worked on the family farm and for his dad in the family seed corn business Troyer and Halterman Seeds. Lair was always very proud of his family's pioneering history regarding the use of hybrid seed corn in the state of Indiana. In 1966 Lair went to work for Pioneer Hi-Bred, a new seed corn production company that came to Rushville and built a new production plant west of town. He would work for Pioneer in various capacities during his tenure, but most of his time was spent working in the maintenance department where his skills as a mechanic, welder and fabricator and his attention to detail were put to use. Lair retired from Pioneer in 1997 after 31 years of service but he remained proud of his contributions to the company and talked often of the lifelong friends that he made there. He remained forever quick with a "Pioneer" story. Lair was a voracious reader from early childhood until just a few weeks before his passing. He never watched TV, he read. He read magazines, newspapers, science fiction, historical records, technical documents and bulletins anything that held his interest. Lair was an active member of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and was heavily invested in black powder guns and shooting for most of his adult life, but mostly he was a skilled gun builder. Many days and evenings he could be found in his small back-porch shop working on whatever his current project might be. He didn't work very fast, and his projects often took several months or even years to complete, but he loved what he was doing and his attention to tiny details was evident. Lair was a wonderful storyteller and an absolute fountain of knowledge when it came to the history of Rushville and Rush County. His memory and recall for such things were amazing even as his health declined in the last several months. Lair was very active with the Boy Scouts of America for many years and was awarded the Silver Beaver for his service and dedication to scouting. For several years he was also involved in TQ Midget racing and enjoyed helping Bruce Leisure and his brothers Steve and Paul with the Leisure Racing Team. He had also been member of the Rushville Eagles Lodge and was a former trustee there. Lair married Eulala (Lou) Sherwood in July of 1997. Each was the light of the other's life. They doted on each other and were inseparable from the day they married until Lou preceded him in death on February 25th of 2014. They enjoyed traveling with friends to black powder shoots, working around the house, and playing cards. The highlight of the year for them was the two weeks they spent with so many friends attending the NMLRA national shoots in Friendship, Indiana in June and September each year. They had a camper on the range at Friendship and that was truly their "happy place." They were happy as long as they were together. At one time, Lair attended and was an active member of Main Street Christian Church in Rushville. Lair leaves behind two sons, David of Rushville and Craig of Tampa, FL and the three grandchildren of whom he was so proud, Jessica (Matt) of Fort Wayne, Jacob of Rushville, and Jenna of Rushville. Also surviving are his Sister-In-Law Sarah Halterman, his nephew Scott (Lori) Halterman, and his niece Julie (John Ogden) Berry. Lair also had a wonderful friendship with John Ems of Dillsboro and they could often be found together wandering the grounds or enjoying a lively conversation outside the camper at Friendship. Besides Lou, he was also preceded in death by his parents in 1987, his younger brother C. Thomas (Tom) in 2002 and his nephew Jeff Halterman in 1977. Due to the inclement weather forecasted, rather than the planned graveside service a brief memorial service will be held on Tuesday December 16th at 11:00 a.m. at Todd Funeral Centre & Crematory. Mr. Tim Starkey has been asked to officiate the service. Burial will follow at East Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a small donation to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana or the Rushville Public Library in Lair's memory. The family would like to express their sincerest appreciation to all of the nurses, aides, and other caregivers at Our Hospice and The Waters of Rushville who helped take care of Lair and makes his final months as comfortable possible. Your kindness and compassion will never be forgotten.