The picture below was provided by Jan Bodine. It is cropped from the 1923 Bodine Family Reunion photo and shows little Leon on the lap of Gertrude with Paddy just in front of them.
He is in the 1923 reunion picture. He died not too long afterwards in an accident involving a tractor. His legs were cut off and he didn't survive. The picture below was provided by Lesa Epperson.
He is buried in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Covington, Indiana.
The following story came from Marvin Bodine, though his daughter-in-law Jan Bodine:
R. Leon Bodine died in a farming accident at the age of 3 years old. Paddy was mowing the field beside the Bodine home with a horse-drawn mower blade - this blade extended out to one side of the team. Little Leon was playing nearby, and he decided to jump out of the way of the oncoming team, but he jumped into the tall grass instead of over to the side of the field that had already been cut. By the time Paddy saw the boy, it was already too late to stop the team or the mower blade. Leon's legs were severed and he died as a result of his wounds. His death was on the day of this third birthday. Paddy and Gertrude never really recovered from this tragic event.
From Ronny Bodine:
From The Decatur (Ill.) Herald of Friday, 20 June 1924.
DANVILLE, June 19---When Russell Leo Bodine, two-year-old son of Manford Bodine, farmer residing south of Covington, Ind., went to the field where his father was cutting hay today, his sudden appearance in the high grass startled the horses which lunged forward and before they could be controlled, both of the child's legs were mangled by the mowing machine. He was brought to a Danville hospital where both were amputated below the knees. It is believed he will recover.
Burials in Mount Hope Cemetery, Covington, Fountain County, Indiana.
(Find A Grave Memorial # 19587502)
R. Leon Bodine 1921-1924