He loved 'chug-chug' of restored engines

Broken-down farm equipment, mottled glass bottles left half-buried in the dirt, an old motor bike forgotten under a dusty tarp in the corner of someone's garage - those were things of real value to LeBaron, the first historian of the Power From the Past Southern Arizona chapter.

But now it's LeBaron's refurbished treasures, including a half-dozen or so classic Cushman motor scooters, that are languishing since the retired paramedic and Navy reservist died of cancer April 12, three weeks shy of his 77th birthday.

LeBaron's love of tractors and gas-powered engines was instilled while growing up on his grandparents' California farm.

At loose ends after they died, LeBaron joined the military, serving in the Naval Reserves for 22 years before joining the Air Force. It was while stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in the late 1950s that LeBaron met the love of his life, Peg. Their courtship was unconventional, as was their marriage.

LeBaron and Peg got married in 1962, with the blessing of her first husband, Bill, who had returned from war a paraplegic. Until his death in 1970, Bill continued to live with Bob and Peg and raise their children - Susan and Jim - together.

Until LeBaron came along, Peg rarely left her home, dedicating all of her time to caring for Bill and their children. LeBaron introduced her to his hobbies, which were numerous.

Together they scoured the desert hunting for arrowheads and old glass bottles, they traveled to gatherings of motor scooter and tractor enthusiasts, they rode motorcycles and, until a friend died in a crash, Peg supported her husband in building and flying ultralight aircraft.

"There wasn't anything he wasn't interested in doing," daughter Susan Rice, said.

Larry Kastens of Hereford met LeBaron 20 years ago through Power From the Past, a group of hobbyists interested in old engines.

LeBaron collected and restored antique and vintage garden tractors.

"He was mechanically inclined. He would just kind of fiddle with things until they worked," Kastens said. "He didn't make them real pretty, but he got them to run. That was the important thing."

And once they were running, LeBaron liked to show them off at community gatherings.

"When we did parades and that sort of thing, he'd drive garden tractors with horns and whistles. He'd have a good time, not sticking to the parade route, but zigzagging back and forth honking his horn," Kastens said.

LeBaron talked about his passion for old engines in a 2002 Arizona Daily Star article.

"You restore them, and you get them running again. It's beautiful to hear the old sound of the 'chug-chug' of an engine," he said. "When you think about it - how well they're made and when they were made - you're kind of intrigued by the people who could put them together."

Someday another enthusiast, no doubt, will wonder the same thing about LeBaron while admiring the care he once took refurbishing his engines.

The series

This feature chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans. Some were well-known across the community. Others had an impact on a smaller sphere of friends, family and acquaintances. Many of these people led interesting - and sometimes extraordinary - lives with little or no fanfare. Now you'll hear their stories.

On StarNet

Did you know Bob LeBaron? Add your remembrance to this article online at azstarnet.com/ lifestories

To suggest someone for Life Stories, contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.