Local man leans on faith after family is devastated by deaths

Jeffrey “Jeff” Landers, 67, of Hartville, is the exemplar of optimism in the face of grief. After facing unimaginable loss in recent years, he has tapped into faith as a fount of perseverance. 
Landers, one of five siblings and the only boy, lost most of his family members within a span of three years. Despite this, he’s remained steadfast in his Christian beliefs.
He was raised in Muncie, Ind., where he and his family worked as tomato farmers. 
“It was a hard living, but an honest one,” he recalled. This life instilled in him and his sisters a strong work ethic and a love for the outdoors. His mother, Barbara Landers, was a pious woman who was central to their upbringing. 
“She was a small woman but very strong,” he said. “No-nonsense lady.”
After his parents separated, his mother moved to Missouri, drawn by the preaching of a man named Leonard Davis at a local church. Landers stayed in Indiana with his father, Harry Landers Jr., who passed away in 1990. 
“My dad taught me a lot of things, and I’m thankful for that,” Landers said. 
Landers eventually became a truck driver, married and became a father. Later in life, he moved to Missouri to be closer to his family, reconnecting with his loved ones, and God. 
But trials and tribulations the family would soon face were looming.
The onslaught of tragedies began in July 2021 when Landers’ mother contracted a severe illness presumed to be COVID-19. Meanwhile, his second oldest sister, Roxanne Youngblood, and her husband, Mick, were hospitalized with the virus. Landers’ other two sisters, Sheila and Marsha, cared for their mother while he was forced to provide support from a distance due to lung problems.
Reflecting on seeing his mother on her deathbed, Landers said, “Her body was there, but not her soul. Her soul was already with the Lord.” 
Barbara Landers passed away on July 6, 2021, at 88 years old. Roxanne died a week later at 66, and her husband, Mick, followed on July 17 at 76. 
“Roxy was a tomboy,” Landers said. “So she was the closest thing I had to a brother.”
The virus spread and increased its devastating toll on the family, claiming his sister, Sheila, on July 19, and his sister, Marsha, on July 30, at 60 years old. The two were patients in the hospital concurrently, and although they could not see each other face-to-face, they communicated via nurses. 
Marsha, affectionately known as the “sweets lady” and “Aunt Bea” in Hartville, left a lasting impact on the community. 
“They were all special in their own way,” Landers said of his sisters. “Each one had a unique spirit that touched the lives of those around them.”
Landers and his oldest sister, Sherry Hall, were all that remained. 
They both credit the good Lord as the reason for their survival, Hall in particular. According to Hall, she was on her way to visit her mother when she fell ill with COVID-19. However, after an intense gut feeling, Sherry decided to turn around and was spared from contracting the virus.
“We lost five in 24 days,” Landers said. “Every time the phone rang, someone was gone.”
Less than a year later, on April 6, 2022, Landers’ wife, Judy, passed away at 74 after a heart attack. On June 9, 2023, his daughter, Christy Lynn, died due to lupus complications. Despite the compounded bereavement, though, Landers remains hopeful. 
“They are all home now,” he said. “I’ll see them again someday.”
His faith in the Lord, ingrained in him since his youth, has provided comfort in bleak times. Landers offered a metaphor regarding the situation: God is a gardener who is pruning rose bushes. 
“When roses bloom, God picks ‘em,” he said.