Robert Elisha Ledyard, Jr.

May 5, 1919 to. December 12,2012 Robert Elisha “Bob” Ledyard, Jr., peacefully departed this earthly life on December 12,2012.

This kind, caring, and accomplished gentleman will be sorely missed by his family and many friends.

Bob was born May 5, 1919, in Beaumont, Texas, to Robert E. Ledyard, Sr., and Fannie Lou Brooks Ledyard. As an infant, he returned with his parents to his father’s childhood home in Montgomery, Alabama. After graduation from Sidney Lanier High School in 1937, Bob was employed by Alabama Power Company as a tree trimmer.

In September 1940, Bob enrolled at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) as a Cooperative Education student in the Electrical Engineering curriculum. He was member of Lambda Chi social fraternity. On September 30, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and continued his engineering studies as a part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP).

He was later discharged from the Army and immediately commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps after being one of fifty engineering students so selected following a nationwide competition. He saw combat as an officer in the First Marine Division in the Pacific.Theater including Pelelia, World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Okinawa .

 

In 1946, he returned to his studies at A.P.I as a Co-Op student and to his employment with Alabama Power Company. In August 1947, he received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree. He was a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, two engineering honorary societies. Following graduation, Bob resumed full-time employment with Alabama Power Company and worked in several engineering, supervisory, and managerial positions in Demopolis, Clanton, and Selma, Alabama. He had been District Manager in Selma, Alabama, for 15 years when he retired from Alabama Power Company in 1985 after more than 48 years of service.

 

On January 17, 1950, Bob made what he called “my best decision” when he married Edna “Sister” Griffin. They moved to Selma in late 1957, reared their 3 children, enjoyed hundreds of wonderful friends and acquaintances, and reluctantly left on their 56th anniversary because of Edna’s terminal illness. Bob lived his remaining years in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

Bob was the Chairman of the Dallas County Chapter of the Red Cross in 1976-1978, President of

 

the Selma Kiwanis Club in 1971-72, and an officer or board member of numerous charitable and social organizations in Dallas County over the years. Bob was a lifelong Episcopalian who served as an acolyte at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Montgomery, as a lay reader and on the

 

Please visit http://www.lawrencebrownservice.com to make online condolences to the family.