Willis Sommer wrote the following about Leland Lehman, who died recently. In our mind, Lee is what a small town is all about. The views of Willis parallel our thought exactly.
Bluffton lost a faculty stalwart with the death of Leland Lehman. Lee came to Bluffton in 1968 as Professor of Economics after holding faculty positions at Dennison and Macalester.
After retirement he continued periodic adjunct teaching. Lee was a mentor to me when I began teaching in 1979. He offered helpful suggestions and a word of encouragement if some aspect of the work was not going well. He had a calm demeanor and never seemed to get riled.
Although I never had a class with Lee, I did gain much from his economic expertise. Often in the afternoons during the school year Lee, Ron Friesen, and I would take a coffee break that often included a discussion related to something in the Wall Street Journal. It felt like a graduate seminar.
After his wife, Dorothy, died in 2005, Ron and I committed to a monthly visit with Lee with a purpose of discussing some economic issue. He always had the WSJ handy and suggested the topic we should discuss. Unfortunately as his health continued to deteriorate the visits were shorter with less economic content.
Lee was active in many areas besides teaching. He served for many years on the Bluffton Village Council. He was active in the Allen County Democratic Party and ran for the State House of Representatives against a long-term incumbent, Ben Rose. Although I was not in Bluffton when Lee ran, I did hear Rose talk about that campaign. Ben and Lee would campaign together. Each had respect for the other; each presented different approaches to issues in their joint appearances.
It is a breath of fresh air to know a political campaign has been conducted in this manner. Perhaps some future candidates will realize this is how to run a campaign.
Lee contributed much to Bluffton University and the local community.
