Arthur Lehmann was born on Jan.14, 1926, and his long and happy life ended on April 4, 2025.
His parents, Albert and Florentine Lehmann raised him and his older sister and brother, Ruth and Robert, in Eastchester, N.Y. Shortly before graduating from Eastchester High School he volunteered for the U.S. Army. Initially not old enough to be deployed, he was sent to Europe and saw combat in the last months of World War II. His unit stayed on through the first year of the Occupation and some of the horrors he witnessed remain untold.
Despite those lifelong emotional burdens, he returned home at the age of 20 and began building his career and family. He worked his way up from crawling through the web of tunnels leading into Grand Central Terminal to read electrical meters, to a mid-level office job with the Electric Power Department of the erstwhile New York Central Railroad. Both his peers and his superiors saw him as the go-to guy for problem-solving, as well as a source of endless wit and humor.
He married Jeanne Uebelacker in 1948, and they spent 45 wonderful years together. They raised their three daughters and retired to New Paltz in 1986 shortly after his retirement from the railroad now known as Metro North. Before Jeanne’s death in 1993, they spent seven happy years traveling, visiting friends and relations, and enjoying their growing family. A couple of years later, an also widowed family friend introduced him to Johanna Najamy. They spent 18 years together before her death in 2013. Two highlights of that period of his life were trips to her native Holland and touring through parts of France and Germany where he served during WWII. He spent the next 10 years staying as well and vigorous as his failing eyesight allowed, while living in a comfortable assisted living facility. If only he had asked for some of that “assistance” with retrieving something from a high closet shelf, he might not have broken his hip two months before his 97th birthday. Two surgeries later, he moved to the Veterans Home in Montrose where he received very good care, especially during the bout of COVID which began on his 99th birthday and the decline in his health that followed.
Just as he had done during those 40 years on the railroad, he was generous with suggestions for how things could be run better and improved at both the assisted living facility and the Veterans’ Home. And just as his peers and superiors did on the railroad, the staff and the caregivers at those facilities thoroughly enjoyed his wit and humor.
Arthur is survived by his daughters Ginny, Mary, and Betsy, who loved him very much and provided him with devoted care. He was beloved by his sons-in-law, Bill Susman, Bill Hertwig and the late Anthony Lotto. His grandchildren, Eddie, Julianne, Diane, Margaret, Katherine, Vincent and Michael, adored him. His great-grandchildren Ella, Alden, and Anthony will be hearing and telling stories about him for many years to come. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews Marge, Karen and Mike, and many great nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made My Brother Vinny at 2720 Lexington Ave. Mohegan Lake, NY 10547 in memory of Arthur Lehmann.
