James A. McCaslin, 84

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James A. McCaslin, 84, of Springfield, formerly of Hillsboro, died Friday, April 9, 2021, at Lewis Memorial Christian Village in Springfield.

Cremation rites were accorded. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Mr. McCaslin was born March 2, 1937, in Hillsboro Township, to William McCaslin and Mary Lewey.

 Due to his cerebral palsy, he attended the Illinois Children’s Hospital School in Chicago. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1955, and earned his associate’s degree in accounting in 1957 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in the first SIU class for the physically disabled. 

He started his own business, McCaslin Accounting and Taxes, which was open from 1958 until he sold it in 1989. He was then employed as an accountant for the Illinois Department on Aging from 1989 until he retired in 2004. He was the village clerk of Donnellson for 12 years and the treasurer of the Hillsboro School District for ten years. 

Mr. McCaslin was the president of both the Hillsboro Lions Club and the Springfield Lincoln Land Lions Club, and was also the Lions Club District governor. He received many awards which included the 1999 Melvin Jones Award and the Lions of Illinois Foundation Fellow in both 2002 and 2007.

For 30 years, he taught hunter education classes for the Department of Conservation. He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, and he loved old tractors, country music, family reunions and RFD-TV’s Larry’s Country Diner. His favorite restaurant was Jungle Jim’s, and he rarely missed going to the Eagles on Tuesday nights. 

His memberships included several hunting clubs, the NRA and the Third Presbyterian Church. With his sense of humor and memory like an elephant, he could tell funny stories about his life experiences and people he had known his whole life.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Dr. Ralph McCaslin, and sisters, Naomi Jackson and Marilyn Mayberry. 

Memorials may be made to the Third Presbyterian Church, 1030 North Seventh Street, Springfield, IL 62702.

Online condolences may be left at www.basspattondeanfh.com.