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Rudolph told Jefferson to report for work the next morning
to a new project – the University of Toledo Ritter
Planetarium. He spent the next few years as a laborer before
he became an operator, running dozers, cranes, backhoes and
excavators.
Work was
steady for the rest of his career—a direct result, he said,
of a strong work ethic—always being on time, never missing a
day of work and finishing every task. “I never had a layoff
slip in 42 years,” he says.
Steady work
made many things possible. He married six months after
joining Rudolph Libbe and started a family. And there was
still time for hobbies. “I got into racing big time. Big
time.”
Within two
years, his Rudolph Libbe coworkers knew him as “Superclutch”
because of his skill in repairing and maintaining his
racecar. In 13 years of retirement, he continued to race
until last year, when he bought an RV and began traveling,
often to see his six children and nine grandchildren.
Jefferson
also is a parent again. He and his wife, Beatrice, are
raising her 15-year-old grandson, Kaeshawn Williamson, after
her daughter died in an auto accident. “He’s a good kid, a
straight-A student. We got into camping last year. Last
year, we went to 15 different campsites.”
Construction
careers continue to run in the Jefferson family. One of his
sons, LaKeith Jefferson, works for GEM Inc., another Rudolph
Libbe Group company.
In May, Jefferson will turn 75. “So far, I’ve
had a good life here. I hope to live another 100 years.”
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