Retired Judge Angus Sinclair "Gus" More Jr., 72, died Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at home with his family.

Gus was born June 26, 1939, in Kankakee to Angus S. and Viola (Fessman) More. He grew up on their grain and dairy farm outside of Kankakee. Being a farm boy provided the background for his great common sense, ingrained work ethic, and a love of the outdoors, a perspective that grounded him the rest of his life.

He graduated in 1961 from the University of Illinois, where he was a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and head of the Army ROTC's infantry program. One week after graduation he was married, commissioned and headed to Bamberg, Germany, for 20 months as an infantry officer during the tense period of the Cuban missile crisis and the Berlin Wall.

He attended law school at American University in Washington, D.C. He was an associate and then a partner at Reno & Zahm Law Firm for 28 years until he was appointed as an associate judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit, where he served for 14 years.

Gus was endearing, intelligent, funny, sentimental, stubborn, kind, generous-and certainly gregarious. He loved all shooting sports whether modern or black powder weapons and was a charter member of Northern Illinois Rifle and Pistol Club while belonging to Rockford Skeet Club and Rock Run Long Rifles, a black powder gun club which he particularly enjoyed. He loved the outdoors and over the years was a hunter of pheasant, waterfowl, deer, elk and more recently, turkey.

He leaves his wife of 50 years, Ann "Annie", and his two children, Barbara Ann (Kevin) Kusner of Orient, Ohio and Angus S. More III of Rockford, plus their children, Katharina Johanna More of Bartlett and the Kusner brothers, Ian James and Liam Michael of Orient, Ohio.