Dr. Leland C. Lehman, 90, of Bluffton, Ohio died 9:30 p.m. March 12, 2010 at Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. Born Feb. 4, 1920, in Berne, Ind., to Leo E. and Alice Lehman, he married Dorothy Jean Burner on June 24, 1945, and she preceded him in death on April 8, 2005.
Dr. Lehman was a professor of economics. He retired from Bluffton College and had also taught at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn., and following his retirement, one year at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan.
Active in the Bluffton community, he served on the Bluffton council for 12 years and the board of the Bluffton Housing Corp. He was a member of the Bluffton Lions Club and was named its Citizen of the Year in 1993.
He was a member of First Mennonite Church, Bluffton, where he was a Sunday school teacher and sang in the choir. He also sang in the Swiss Male Chorus and the Bluffton Choral Society.
Dr. Lehman was a 1938 graduate of Berne (Indiana) High School, 1942 graduate of Bluffton College and received his PhD. in Economics from Ohio State Univversity. He served in the Army Air Corps. during WWII and was stationed in Abadan, Iran.
Survivors include a son, Stephen Lehman of Philadelphia, Pa., two daughters, Barbara (Edward) Boldt of Reedley, Calif., Cynthia (David) Linscheid of North Newton, Kan., four grandsons, Daniel (Dolores) Boldt, Nathan Boldt, Aaron (Caitlin) Linscheid, Joel Linscheid, a great grandson, Joshua Salvador Boldt, a brother, Jackson (Carol) Lehman of Ft. Wayne, Ind., and a sister Imogene (James) Benroth of Bluffton. A brother, Harold Lehman and sisters, Vivian Bishop and Margaret Joann Lehman, preceded him in death.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Mennonite Church, Bluffton. Revs. Steven J. Yoder and Louise Wideman will officiate. Burial of the cremated remains will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Bluffton.
Friends may call from 6-8 p.m. Monday at Chiles-Laman Funeral Home, Bluffton. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Leland and Dorothy Lehman Scholarship fund at Bluffton University or the Mennonite Memorial Home.
