Wagner College mourns the loss of Lifetime Trustee Dr. John Edward Lehmann ’62 H’93, who died on Friday, April 18 at his home in Florida following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“His struggle is over,” said his son Kurt. “He went peaceably, surrounded by his family.”
He was 82 years old.
Born in December 1931, John Lehmann was the son of a Staten Island policeman. After serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, Lehmann worked full time as a mailman while taking night-school courses at Wagner College. After graduating in 1962, Lehmann became an accountant with Butterick, the home-patterns publisher. In 1983, he was part of a Butterick management group that acquired the company in a leveraged buyout. In 1987, Lehmann was named president of Butterick; the following year, he became CEO. He retired from the company in 2001.
In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Lehmann endowed the Kim Adrienne Lehmann Scholarship in Nursing in memory of their daughter. It continues to help four nursing students continue their education each year.
John Lehmann joined Wagner College’s board of trustees in 1989. He became board treasurer, then served as vice chairman alongside Chairman Don Spiro until 2001, when he was named a lifetime trustee.
“John was such a very good and decent man,” said Wagner College President Richard Guarasci. “I met him in 1997, and he was so effective in persuading me to come to Wagner; he just loved the school. His remarkable business success was a source of great pride, but it was always mixed with a joy about life that he wanted to share with others.”
ARRANGEMENTS
Family visitation is scheduled for Friday, April 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Harmon Funeral Home, 571 Forest Ave., Staten Island.
A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, April 26 at 9:30 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 76 Franklin Ave., Staten Island.
Also see John Lehmann's obituary in the Newtown (Conn.) Bee.
