Julian 'Bus' Hawthorne Lauchner, 87 of Philo passed at 12:34 AM Sunday March 4, 2012 after battling cancer. He was born October 8, 1924 in Centralia, IL to A.H. and Ruth Lauchner. His youth was spent in Urbana, where he ran a paper route, worked at the UI Chicken farm, ran track and played the tuba. Following the Urbana High School Class of 1942 graduation, Julian joined the US Army Air Force as a pilot. He returned home to attain Engineering degrees (BS, two MS and a PhD) at the University of Illinois. There he met and wed Virginia L. Slater of Pana, IL and they remained married for 61 years. Julian joined the UI Engineering faculty and then became Head of Ceramic Engineering at Mississippi State University. Next, he accepted an appointment as the 1st Dean of Engineering at SIU, then Dean of Engineering at Cleveland State University and finally Dept Head at the IL State Geological Survey. All the while, he was a consultant for the Ford Foundation in the Middle East and the family moved with him during the Ford appointment in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After retirement, Julian began a new career as a subdivision developer. He loved land and enjoyed building, thus he focused time and energy on designing houses, developing subdivisions and managing his farms. During his final hospital stay Julian kept telling everyone, "Let me out of here, I need to get a job!" That statement is a true testament to his indomitable will. As a child of The Great Depression, Julian wasted neither money nor resources. With zeal, he studied a problem, eliminated all extraneous details and solved it with the least expenditure. He loved flying airplanes, planting trees, taking apart and rebuilding anything and listening to Scott Joplin music. Some called him Dr., others Mr. and a few knew him as Buster, Bus or Buzz. No matter how you related to Julian, all recognized his intelligence, stamina, creativity, courage and sense of whimsy. We surely miss his smile. Julian is preceded in death by his parents Aaron Hawthorne and Ruth B. Lauchner, sister Patricia Herrling and grandson Andrew Witherell. He is survived by his wife, Virginia (Slater) Lauchner, children; Linda Lauchner, Julia Lauchner, Mark Lauchner, Jayne Grosse, Carol Witherell, Ruth Thomas; 14 grandchildren and two great grandchildren; brothers Robert Lauchner and Joel Lauchner and sister Judy Grinstein. There will be neither visitation nor funeral services. A Celebration of Life will be held next summer at his home and lake in Philo. Should you wish to honor his life please support the Philo Library or plant a tree somewhere and nurture it well.