RANTOUL — Village board Trustee Jim Stubblefield will be remembered by many names — father, husband, public servant, military retiree, educator, businessman and an elected official who had an "I can and I will" attitude.

Mr. Stubblefield, who was re-elected in April to serve his second four-year term as a Rantoul village trustee, died Sunday, June 5, of complications from pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas. He was 63. Funeral services are at 10 a.m. today at Lux Memorial Chapel in Rantoul.

"He loved this community. To me, he was certainly a pleasure to work with," said Rantoul Mayor Neal Williams. "When the community loses somebody like Jim, it's a time for the community to rally and collectively fill that void."

Mr. Stubblefield served as a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, worked as the special projects coordinator for Education for Employment System 330 — which detailed career education and serving special population students — and also owned the Rantoul Express Lube and the Second Cup.

Friends and colleagues remember Mr. Stubblefield as being devoted and committed to the community to which he served.

"He was dedicated to Rantoul, that's for sure," said Rantoul real estate agent Herman Fogal, who served with Mr. Stubblefield on the village board for two years. "Anytime you talked to him, he was 'Go, go, go Rantoul.'"

Paul Simpkins, a retired Rantoul United Methodist Church minister, served on the Rantoul Rotary Club with Mr. Stubblefield.

"From my time with him in Rotary, I found Jim to be a person who would say, when asked to do something, 'I can and I will,'" Simpkins said. "He could do most everything and do it well, but more importantly he was willing to do it. ... This world is a better place because of Jim Stubblefield placing his mark on us."

Williams said he has 60 days to fill the huge void on the village board, but he will not immediately do so "out of respect to the family and to Jim."

"I may take the full 60 days," he said, adding he wanted to "fill that position with somebody that cares about the community as much as Jim did."

"He was a friend. He will be missed, not just by myself, but by the entire community," Williams said.