Leland J. Simpson, 97, lifelong resident of Lyndon, died peacefully Saturday evening May 19, 2012, at his home with his family by his side. He was born Dec. 3, 1914, in East Lyndon on the Fairholme Farm, the son of W. Arthur and Ruth (Hoffman) Simpson. When he was 6 years old his father purchased their ancestral home, the Wilder Farm near East Lyndon where he has resided ever since. He attended the Red Village School and Lyndon Institute, graduating in the class of 1933. On Sept. 5, 1938, he married Zelda Cox. They worked and raised their family on the Wilder farm which Leland farmed for more than 50 years. At the age of 90 he was still cutting his own firewood and overseeing his productive land. He was a lifelong member of the Lyndonville United Methodist Church. During the years of raising a family and tending the dairy farm he found time to serve his beloved Town of Lyndon as a School Director and Lister. He was a longtime member of the Caledonia County Farm Bureau, serving on the board for many years as well as president for two of those years. He had held memberships in the Grange, Eastern States Farmers Exchange, Agway, Caledonia County 4-H dairy committee, trustee of Lyndon Institute and Northeastern VermontRegional Hospital, and a charter member of the American Minor Breeds Conservancy. He also mentored many young people throughout the years who visited and worked on his farm. He farmed until 1983 when his herd of Milking Shorthorns and Holsteins were sold. He was an excellent dairyman and steward of his woods and cropland. Leland served 14 years as Representative for Caledonia County in the Vermont Legislature where he was well respected.