Leslie Hugh ‘Les’ Inman

Leslie Hugh ‘Les’ Inman, age 90, of O’Fallon, Ill., passed away peacefully Friday night, June 20, 2025, at Bethesda Dilworth, Oakland, Mo.

Born on August 1, 1934, in the small town of St. Pauls, N.C., to a poor family with 3 acres and a white clapboard house. He grew up picking cotton, tobacco, and beans, and when he graduated high school, he knew he wasn’t going to college, but he didn’t want to be a farmer either. So, he went to the shipyard in Newport News, Va., got a job, and worked on an aircraft carrier (USS Forrestal) for a year and a half. Then he decided he wasn’t happy working on ships either, so he joined the US Air Force and worked in medical administration and computer operations for 28 years until he retired as a Senior Master Sergeant (E-8). He had many assignments including New Jersey, Germany, North Carolina, Thailand, England and Illinois, and was a Vietnam war veteran due to his wartime service at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. On one of his early assignments to Germany, he met the love of his life - Edith ‘Edie’ Dresler – and married her and had two children, William and Michele. They were married for 61 years until she died in 2020.

After retiring from the Air Force, Leslie got a job with the US Postal Service in downtown St. Louis. He was a supervisor in payroll for 22 years until he retired for good in 2005.

He attended the First Baptist Church in O’Fallon. ‘Hugh’ as he was called by his N.C. family, ended up travelling the world, even though he didn’t like to travel, and asked his children and grandchildren to visit him every year, even though he generally liked to be alone and didn’t like playing games. He had few hobbies. Most of the time we found him watching baseball or football on TV, doing paperwork in his home office, or talking about sports even though most of us didn’t follow them. He loved his family though, and he let us know every time we saw him with a hearty hug and an “I love you!” He was a great father and grandfather, and even though he hated to spend money on himself, he freely spent money on family for whatever was needed or wanted. His favorite food was a gas station hotdog, because it only cost $1. However, he was a great provider to his family and would take us out to whatever restaurant we wanted when we came to visit. He was very much loved and appreciated by his wife, children, their spouses, and grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents L.H. and Lucy Inman, his wife Edie Inman, his brother Cecil Inman, his sister Lois Hagen and his daughter Michele Inman.

He is survived by his son William (Laury) Inman of O’Fallon, Ill.; grandchildren Zachary Inman, Alexandre (Rachelle) Inman, Nicole Youngstrom, and Aaron Inman; great-grandchildren Romynn Youngstrom and Evander Youngstrom; nephews Steve (Loretta) Hagen and Cecil E. (Linda) Inman, niece Linda (Clarence) Bailey, and son-in-law Bart Collida, and his dog Mia.

All services will be held in St. Pauls, N.C., with burial at Oak Ridge Cemetery, St. Pauls, N.C. under the direction of McNeill-Legacy Funeral Home. Flowers are welcome.