LEO "Lee" MARTIN LEHMANN, was the fourth child of John Michael Lehmann and Mary Catherine Mills. He was born 4 July 1898 at the family home in Piqua, Miami County, Ohio and was soon baptized at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Piqua as "Leo Martin." His birthdate in the baptismal record appears the same as given. He was educated at St. Boniface Catholic School. He received his first communion and was probably confirmed at St. Boniface Catholic Church. In the LEHMANN household he grew to adulthood.

His sister, Gertrude, recalled in April of 1994 that Lee had broken his father's good hammer one day. "He came into the house asking Mom for some molasses. Mom asked him why he wanted molasses. He tried to explain that he wanted it so that he could glue the hammer handle back together."

Lee lived with his widowed mother and youngest two sisters for a number of years. Rita recalled the following concerning her brother, Lee. "Since Lee wasn't married until later in life, he, Gert, Mom, and I were home together for a long time. The farthest back I can remember is how good Lee's aim was. Once he killed a chicken with a stone. Dad asked him how he did it, so he picked up another stone to show Dad, threw it, and in the process killed another of Dad's chickens. The boys would go frog hunting, and they said that when a frog would jump out of the water, he could throw a stone and hit it. Also, when young, Lee raised white fantail pigeons and sold some. They said that when Mom would sit outdoors to darn socks, they'd come and sit on her shoulder and sometimes take her strands of darning cotton and fly away with them. (I don't think Mom felt that darning was a chore but more of a way of relaxing.) Lee was always particular in how he dressed...a perfectionist. He was always wanting his ties and trousers pressed. Sometimes we'd get 25 cents for pressing them for him. He used our face powder when he went out on dates, and we'd often have to remind him that it was his turn to replace our box of powder. He was quite a dapper guy."

Rita continued, "Lee had been dating someone for some time, but we didn't know with whom, as he was very secretive about it. Then one winter's night, it had snowed, and Dad went out to shovel the snow early in the morning. Lee's tracks were the only ones showing in the snow, so Dad followed them up and across the street a couple of houses. His girlfriend, Zelma, lived there with her married sister and brother-in-law--the RALSTONs." Zelma was employed at the Orr Felt and Blanket Co. where Gert (Lehmann) Beihl and Joseph Beihl also worked.

Lee had dated Zelma for 17 years before their marriage. It was their wish to have enough money to buy a home and furniture for it." Thus Lee did not marry until the age of 43 years. On the 23 of December in 1941 Lee and Zelma were married at the St. Boniface Catholic Parsonage in Piqua, Ohio by Rev. Aloysis Monter. His nephew, Leonard Zimmer, and her niece, Lota Brandt, were witnesses.

Their home was built at 801 Clark Avenue, Piqua, Ohio within walking distance to his mother's home and work.

"Perhaps his relationship with Zelma was kept a secret, as he was a Catholic and Zelma was not, but Lee was a quiet man and spoke little of his affairs. I don't think this was a problem though, as Dad had married Mom who was not a Catholic before her marriage. And...it was never a problem for the rest of us. As time passed many of us had married others not Catholic, so we really didn't see religion as a problem. Lee remained close to all of us, but Zelma preferred to remain aloof at times, yet at other times she embraced all of us and joined in our fun and good times. Perhaps we just didn't understand her feelings, and she didn't understand ours."

Zelma was born 5 April 1905 at Webster, Darke County, Ohio to Harvey Cain and his wife, Mary. She lived with her parents in Bradford, Ohio and then with her sister in Piqua. Zelma was affiliated with the Lutheran Church and remained true to its teachings, while Leo remained faithful to his Church attending Mass each Sunday and Holy Days at St. Boniface Church. Here he was a member of the Knights of St. John. It is said that Zelma was known as "Baby" or "Babe" for a number of years until she came of an age to name herself, and thus the nickname continued to stay with her even into adulthood by her immediate family.

Lee worked at the Wood Shovel & Tool Company in Piqua as an aluminum welder. He and Zelma made their home at 801 Clark Avenue, Piqua. Rita indicated that "Zelma didn't like to kill and clean chickens, so Lee would bring them down to Mom, who would do it for him." The couple was blessed with a daughter, Linda Lee, who was born on 7 January 1949 at Piqua. As Zelma's aged mother grew ill, she went to live with the Lehmann family, and Lee and Zelma cared for her until her dying day.

Zelma became ill and died on 12 July 1969 at Piqua. She was buried at the Harris Creek Cemetery in Bradford, Darke County, Ohio.

Eventually Lee retired from the Wood Shovel & Tool Company. As he grew older he suffered from Alzheimer's. By age 71 it became necessary for his daughter, Linda, to make a most difficult decision to place him at the Villa Convalescent Home at Troy, Miami County, Ohio. Here he spent the remainder of his days and died on Friday, 4 February 1977. According to the Certificate of Death his demise was the result of senile dementia, fracture of the left hip, and pneumonia. [Copy of Death Certificate from Linda Lee (Lehmann) Grote]   A Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated at St. Boniface Catholic Church by Rev. Father Charles Rohrkemper. He was laid to rest next to his wife at the Harris Creek Cemetery in Bradford, Miami County, Ohio on 8 February 1977.

Story/Photo Contributors: Gertrude Philomena Cecelia (MILLS-LEHMANN) BEIHL (deceased) Rita Marie Margaret (MILLS-LEHMANN) SHIELDS (deceased) Audrey Ann (LEHMANN-SHIELDS) HANCOCK Linda Lee (CAIN-LEHMANN) GROTE Jo Antionette (WILKINS-SHERMAN) CHILDERS

Webpage by:   Audrey (Lehmann-Shields Hancock of Portage, Michigan

Created: 17 February 2002 Revised: 17 April 2007