What do you think of when you hear the name 'Lloyd' in Evansville? It depends on your age.

Former Evansville Mayor Russ Lloyd Jr., a self-described introvert, didn’t mind growing up in the shadow of his beloved father, a political icon for whom the Lloyd Expressway is named.

Although Russ Jr. tried to steer away from politics, the lure was too great — one of his selling points to the electorate was that he wasn’t a politician.

Russ Jr. was upstairs sleeping at home around 7 a.m. on March 19, 1980, when his father was shot four times by Julie Van Orden. Upset with city officials and believing Russ Lloyd Sr. still was mayor (his term had ended a few months earlier), Van Orden went to his home and, after a brief argument, she pulled out a gun and shot him. Russ Sr. died two days later.

Lloyd Sr. was the only Republican to become a twice-elected mayor of Evansville (from 1972-80) in the 20th Century; current mayor Lloyd Winnecke is serving his third term.

Van Orden died at age 69 in the medical unit of the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis in June 2014.

From the archives: Woman who killed former Evansville mayor dies in prison

Lloyd Jr., who served as Evansville Mayor from 2000-03, lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel, who benefited from the controversy surrounding a Downtown ballpark proposal that never got off the ground. He is 65 and currently city controller. He has a mixture of photos in his den TV room of family and luminaries from when his father was mayor.

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Following is a Q&A with Russ Lloyd, Jr. It has been edited for length and clarity.

If memory serves, one reason you were elected mayor is that you billed yourself as not being a typical politician? True?

I would say yes. My background was in business, but I had been elected to the Vanderburgh County Council, a part-time position. I had worked at the former Citizens Bank and then was controller for Koch Originals, the Koch family furniture manufacturing company.

I was cautious about getting into politics, running for mayor at age 43. I was more introverted while my dad was an extrovert. He taught me by his examples and many of people that came up with him were available to help me.

Do you consider it an honor that the Lloyd Expressway was named after your father?

Yes. I’m very proud for him and it’s a fitting honor since he lobbied for it during his mayoral term. It unites the city, east to west. He would like that. I remember as a kid riding down the old Division Street with railroad tracks running down the middle. It was very slow going — now it’s such a great improvement.

Does it bother you when people make derogatory remarks about the expressway due to the stoplights? It’s vastly improved from when I came to town in the mid-1980s, when it was so difficult to get from the East Side to the West Side.

Derogatory remarks don’t bother me. I think Evansville traffic flow is pretty good, not near as difficult as bigger cities like Nashville, Atlanta or Chicago. I prefer to look forward. Obviously, we need the new Interstate 69 bridge for even better flow between Evansville and Kentucky. I agree Lloyd Expressway really connected east and west (and) helped development of the far West Side and USI, among other things.

Did your father give you political advice? Was it difficult growing up in his shadow?

No. Dad did not give me political advice since I had no intention of getting into politics. He was the politician, a very talented one. We talked about national affairs, sports and business since that was my college major. We kids had to find our own way with our famous father.

Dad had a big personality that dominated conversations, but he was always interested in what my brothers, sisters and I were doing. We enjoyed playing pickup basketball, football and other games with him. When I went to Indiana University in Bloomington in the late 1970s I was out of the shadow, and it helped me grow.

What happened to the Downtown ballpark? Don Mattingly and Cal Ripken were behind an affiliated minor league team to play there but it fell apart. Was that one reason you weren’t re-elected?

The Downtown baseball stadium was set up using a tenuous financing plan and some of that didn’t work out. I pledged no property taxes could be used which further limited it.  The timing on the stadium was bad since the Iraq War had broken out (and) there was economic uncertainty. The stadium opponents were very emotional and vocal — I received death threats over it. Yes, it was one of the reasons I lost re-election.

How long have you been City Controller? What are your future plans?

Over 10 years, I was appointed Jan. 1, 2012. As a CPA I do some private tax work and can keep doing that. I like to stay busy, so I will always do something, (and I have) no thoughts of retiring at this time.

Does Mayor Winnecke seek your advice? Obviously with the pandemic, crime, inflation and other issues, it’s a tough time to be a politician.

Mayor Winnecke always seeks good advice from many advisors. Yes, there was no manual for the COVID-19 virus pandemic, and it’s been very stressful. I think the mayor and our local elected leaders did an outstanding leadership job guiding our community through this pandemic. Local government had to learn a lot quickly, between working with state and local health departments, with our hospitals and medical community while setting up remote access to government services, public meetings and facilities. I hope the COVID virus keeps dwindling and we’ve seen the worst.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Well, I like to spend time with my wife Theresa, our son Russell Joseph and grandson Will. Also, with our English bulldog Stella. Our extended family gets together regularly; brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews at different events. I like to play golf, (and I'm) trying to improve there. It’s fun to play cards and hang out with friends. We like to go to IU and UE basketball games and concerts, too.

Like my dad, I love history, U.S. and local, including political history. I read a lot, mainly business, economics and investing and toss in some biographies and history. We would like to get back and travel more. I’m still involved in local politics, advising Republican candidates, analyzing campaigns and attending events.

Did you find it amusing that 93.5 FM (WLYD radio) changed its name to “The Lloyd?"

Once again, someone using our name but we get no royalties? Huh?! Have you seen the Lloyd Crossing shopping center?

Seriously, the Lloyd Expressway is so ingrained and well-known to people in this area (so) marketers want to use the name. How many know about its namesake? Lloyd is a Welsh name, and our family came here from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, which is near Wilkes-Barre (eastern Pennsylvania).

We hear “The Lloyd” a lot and we’re used to it. But still, it’s a nice tribute to Russell G. Lloyd, my father and the mark he left here.

Contact Gordon Engelhardt by email at gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com and follow him on Twitter @EngGordon.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Russ Lloyd Jr. followed political icon father as Evansville mayor