LIDDY, L.B.: Died 1990
LIDDY, LEDET, BAUM, SMOCK
Posted By: Volunteer: Sherri
Date: 11/17/2024 at 15:14:22
VB Reg
1990 AP 5Former Keo resident L.B. Liddy dies
L.B. Liddy, 84, of Urbandale, who was Iowa's secretary of agriculture for 10 years and an employee of the state agency for more than30 years, died of a heart ailment Monday, April 2, 1990 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.
Liddy operated Swift Feeds close to where the DX is in downtown Keosauqua starting in the middle 30s.
When he ran for Secretary of Agriculture he always listed Keosauqua as his hometown.
Liddy, a Republican, earned a reputation for standing up for traditional middle American values. At age 64 he physically tangled with two young men who were distributing an "underground" newspaper inside the Iowa statehouse.
Liddy explained later that he was angered because the publication contained some New Left slogans and some wording he considered obscene. He said was particularly upset that the publication was bien shown to female employees.
Liddy, often called "Loosh" (for Lucius) by his close friends and political allies, was born at Strawberry Point and finished high school at Hawkeye. He later took classes at the University of Iowa.
He had been in (teh) seed, feed and produce business more than 10 years when in 1939 he became an (inspectgor) in the state agriculture department in the southeast section of Iowa.
In 1950 he was appointed head of the dairy and food division of the agriculture department, a job he held until early 1961 when he was appointed state personnel director.
When the Iowa secretary of agriculture died in office in (JUne) 1961, Liddy was appointed to fill the vacancy.
He won election to the job in 1962 but then lost a bid for re-election in 1964. He was elected again in 1966, 1968 and 1970 and retired in 1973.
Liddy had a knack for getting involved in controversies that led to publicity far beyond what (he) office of secretary of agriculture normally would generate.
He was a member of Grace United Methodist Church, former board member of Living History Farms and the Des Moines Botancial(err) Center; former member of the Iowa Development Commission and member of the Kiwanis and Shrine.
Surviving are his wife, Ruth L.; a son, Richard of St. Louis, Mo.; a daughter, Joanne Ledet of Eugene, Oregon; two sisters, Harriet Baum of Manchester and Lucille Smock of Decorah, and five grandchildren.
Services were held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, 1990 at Grace United Methodist Church with a private burial at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.
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L.B. Liddy, ex-secretary of agriculture for Iowa, diesBy GENE RAFFENSPERGER
Register Staff WriterL.B. Liddy, 84, of Urbandale, who was Iowa's secretary of agriculture for 10 years and an employee of that state agency more than 30 years, died of a heart ailment Monday at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
Liddy, a Republican, earned a reputation for standing up for traditional middle American values. At age 64 he physically tangled with two young men who were distributing an "underground" newspaper inside the Iowa statehouse.
Liddy explained later that he was angered because the publication contained some New Left slogans and some wording he considered obscene. He said he was particularly upset that the publication was being shown to female employees.
Liddy, often called "Loosh" (for Lucius) by his close friend and political allies, was born at Strawberry Point and finished high school at Hawkeye. He later took classes at the University of Iowa.
He had been in the seed, feed and produce business for more than 10 years when in 1939 he became an inspector in the state agriculture department in the southeast section of Iowa.
In 1950 he was appointed head of the dairy and food division of the agriculture department, a job he held until early 1961 when he was appointed state personnel director.
When the Iowa secretary of agriculture died in office in June 1961, Liddy was appointed to fill the vacancy.He won election to the job in 1962 but then lost a bid for re-election in 1964. He was elected again in 1966, 1968 and 1970 and retired in 1973.
Liddy had a knack for getting involved in controversies that led to publicity far beyond what the office of secretary of agriculture normally would generate.
For example, Liddy once was at the center of a flap about whether "mincemeat pie" could be sold with a content of apples, raisins, sugar and other ingredients, or whether true mincemeat demanded that meat also be part of the recipe.
On another occasion Liddy became embroiled in a dispute about whether job application forms for the agriculture office could ask a person's church preference. Liddy said he would not want to hire an infidel. He later removed the question from the forms.
In 1970, when student unrest was rife in the nation, Liddy encountered two 20 year-old men in a hallway at the statehouse. The two were distributing their underground newspaper. In a scuffle that followed, witnesses reported, 64-year-old Liddy slammed one man against a wall and tried to take a camera away from the other.
One of the men later reported he had a bruise and a scratch on his face. Liddy said he had a scrape on one of his knuckles. The two young men at first talked about filing charges against Liddy, but did not. No charges were filed by Liddy, either.
He was a member of Grace United Methodist Church, former board member of Living History Farms and the Des Moines Botanical Center, former member of the Iowa Development Commission and member of the Kiwanis and Shrine.
Surviving are his wife, Ruth L.; a son, Richard of St. Louis, Mo.; a daughter, Joanne Ledet of Eugene, Ore.; two sisters, Harriet Baum of Manchester and Lucille Smock of Decorah, and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Grace United Methodist Church with a private burial at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.
Source: "Scrapbook 1989 - 1990", Pg. 639 & 640,
Keosauqua Public Library, Keosauqua, Van Buren Co., IA
Van Buren Obituaries maintained by Rich Lowe.
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