Albert Leslie “Les” Disher, a Waterville Township trustee and a veteran of state and local FFA and 4-H alumni groups, died Thursday. He was 76.

Doris Disher, his wife, said he died from an apparent heart attack. He was found in his vehicle at the Elmore exit on the Ohio Turnpike early Thursday by Ohio Highway Patrol troopers. She said he had been attending the Mid-American Conference basketball tournament in Cleveland and checked out of his hotel Wednesday evening.

Mr. Disher was elected township trustee in 2003 after serving appointment positions on the township zoning commission and board of zoning appeals.

Mrs. Disher said her husband was interested in improving the township. She said he worked to bring sewer and water service for new housing developments.

“He tried to make it better for everybody in the township,” she said.

He also helped to bring harmony and cooperation to the once stormy relationship between the township and Waterville, helping resolve issues regarding growth, zoning, annexation, and economic development.

Mr. Disher was jointly nominated with Waterville Mayor Chuck Peyton in 2008 for a Jefferson Award in the category of Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official.

He was a 45-year volunteer adviser of the Golden Forks 4-H Club. Mrs. Disher said he helped youngsters raise and show lambs, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, and steers. He also was a judge for youth competitions at county fairs.

“He made sure the kids knew what they were doing and gave them advice on how to care for their animals. The kids knew what they were doing once he told them what needed to be done,” Mrs. Disher said.

In 1999, he was selected at the first Lucas County inductee into the Ohio 4-H Hall of Fame. He also was on the state 4-H advisory council.

He was a member of the Anthony Wayne FFA and served on its advisory board. He and his wife were among the couples that founded the school’s FFA Alumni Association. He was a life member of the Ohio FFA alumni organization.

Mr. Disher was born Oct. 21, 1939, to Thelma and Orville Disher, who were some of the township’s best-known farmers. He graduated in 1958 from Anthony Wayne High School.

He attended Ohio State University. He married the former Doris Ann Fair on Oct. 21, 1961. After working at meatpacking plants in Dayton and Iowa, the couple returned to Waterville Township, and he began a career in sales for Arco Inc. He retired in 2011.

In 2000, Mr. Disher was inducted into the Anthony Wayne High School hall of fame.

Surviving are his wife, Doris, daughter, Amy Sue McGee, and sister, Sandra Bucher.

Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. today in the Peinert Dunn Funeral Home, Waterville. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Community of Christ Lutheran Church, Whitehouse.

Tributes are suggested to the church or Anthony Wayne Alumni Association for FFA Scholarships.

First Published March 15, 2016, 4:00 a.m.