Gene Schuessler spent much of his adult life engaged in the business of keeping homes and businesses pest-free and lived by a simple New Testament motto.

Schuessler, who opened Cape Girardeau's family-owned Advanced Pest Control in 1980, died Monday at age 81.

His wife of more than 63 years and APC co-owner, Dorothy Schuessler, preceded him in death 17 days earlier, on April 1.

Dorothy, in a 2015 Southeast Missourian interview, said her husband followed the Golden Rule -- do unto others, as they do unto you.

"Gene always says he wants to treat people like he wants to be treated. If there is a problem, then you've got to fix it," she said at the time.

"Obviously, Gene started a very successful company," said Chris Horrell, owner of an APC competitor, Bug Zero of Cape Girardeau. "He was very active in the Missouri Pest Management Association and did a lot of things for the industry."

Schuessler was MPMA's Man of the Year in 2012 and is a member of the association's hall of fame.

Aaron Eades of KC Pest Experts in Olathe, Kansas, and former owner of Elite Pest Control of Cape Girardeau, said he has great respect for the Schuessler family's longevity.

"If you have been in business as long as Advanced Pest Control has, you've got to be doing something right," Eades said Friday.

APC, located at 821 Progress St., continues to the second generation -- with both a son, Gary Schuessler, and a daughter, Deanna Niederkorn, involved in the business.

Gary Schuessler is immediate past president of MPMA.