Carbondale Reporter

State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) recently announced that he'd presented his nephew with an Official Illinois House of Representatives Certificate of Congratulations.

"Yesterday I was honored to present my nephew Marty Leffler with an Official Illinois House of Representatives Certificate of Congratulations celebrating 100 years of the funeral home he and his wife own," Severin wrote in a Dec. 14 Facebook post. "Leffler Funeral Home started out as Freeman Funeral Home and then became Poulson Funeral Home and changed to Leffler Funeral Home when Marty purchased it. Congratulations and thank you for your service to families throughout these many years."

Leffler Funeral Home was established in 1921 as the Freeman Funeral Home by Cora and Will Freeman. A few years later, the business was sold to Maurice "Smokey" Poulson and in the Poulson family until April 1, 2010, when it was sold to Marty and Alisa Leffler. It is now known as the Leffler Funeral Home.

A lifelong Benton resident, Leffler has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1988. Leffler started his funeral career on Aug. 8, 1988, with the Hobbs-Johnson Funeral Home, where he was employed for 15 years until his departure in 2003.

Severin has been a state representative since Jan. 2017. His current committee assignments include: Judiciary - Criminal (Republican Spokesperson); Mental Health & Addiction (Republican Spokesperson); Tourism Committee (Republican Spokesperson); Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education: School Curriculum Policies; Redistricting Committee; Criminal Administration and Enforcement; Firearms and Firearm Safety Subcommittee; Juvenile Justice and System Involvement; Sex Offenses and Sex Offender Registry; Sentencing, Penalties and Criminal; Veterans' Affairs.