He graduated from Ashland High School and Duke University earning a B.A. in History. He served in the U. S. Army Reserve for a year before obtaining his law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1965 . Jim practiced law in Columbus, Ohio for 51 years from 1965 through 2016. He was a member of the Columbus and Ohio State Bar Associations, the National Arbitration Forum, and the Federal Bar Association, serving as president of the Columbus Chapter from 1974-1975. Jim volunteered countless hours serving on several boards and committees at First Community Church, Heart to Heart Food Pantry, Planned Parenthood, Friends of the Homeless, and The Columbus Legal Aid Society. He loved to golf, read, play cards, watch sports, fish, sit by the ocean or with a good dog, but mostly spend time with his family and friends. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jane; their two children, Katie (Tim) Sullivan and Dan (Jenny) Ledman; four grandchildren, Maggie and Joe Sullivan, Wyatt (Emily) and Henry Ledman; and great grandson, Wilder. Jim was preceded in death by his father, Herbert; mother, Betty; stepfather, Flip Lersch; stepsister, Judith Ann Wallace; and two stepbrothers, E. Philip Lersch Jr., and David Lee Lersch. Due to COVID-19 no gathering or service is planned. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Heart to Heart Food Pantry, 1320 Cambridge Blvd. Columbus, OH 43212 or to a charity of your choice. Family has entrusted SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST with arrangements.
Eulogy for James Ledman
By Dennis Newman
Jim Ledman was my friend and law partner for more than 50 years. He died one week after his 81st birthday following a valiant battle with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. Jim spent the last two years dealing with his devastating diagnosis directly and with grace and dignity.
He was a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, and lawyer—in that order. He is survived by Jane, his wife of 56 years; his children Katie (Tim) Sullivan and Dan (Jenny) Ledman; grandchildren Maggie and Joe Sullivan and Wyatt (Emily) and Henry Ledman; and great grandson, Wilder Ledman. He loved each and every one of them.
I met Jim in the spring of 1966 when I was hired as a summer clerk at the law firm where Jim was working as a third-year associate. Most workdays, we ate lunch together unless one of us had another commitment. When we were together recently, Jim and I agreed that we had eaten more lunches together than with our wives. Our families are closely connected. We shared Christmas afternoons when our children were young, took trips to the beach at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and spent many summer days grilling burgers in one of our backyards. With Jane and my wife, Diana, or more often as part of a guys’ foursome, we spent lots of time on local golf courses—an activity near and dear to me and to Jim.
Jim practiced law in Columbus for 51 years. He retired from Isaac, Wiles, Burkholder, & Teetor, LLC on December 31, 2016. He was one of the brightest lawyers in the office. Indeed, he was the one that other lawyers consulted. He had a voracious appetite for the law and nearly always remembered a case that answered the question at hand. If he didn’t know the answer, he did the research to find it. He was a straight shooter; he called it like he saw it. Lawyers respected him and clients loved him.
Jim was active in the community. He served on various boards and committees at First Community Church and volunteered for years at the Church’s Heart to Heart Food Pantry. He was a board member for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and was president of the Columbus Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. After retirement in 2016, he volunteered with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. He regularly served meals with his church Couples Circle through Friends of the Homeless. He was a great model for his children, grandchildren, and for all of us.
Jim was devoted to his wife Jane and described her as “my rock.” Largely tethered to their home as a result of his illness and COVID-19 since last March, they used their time to reminisce about their families and their lives together. They watched movies and ball games on TV, read books, and always had a jigsaw puzzle in progress on the table facing the backyard. Jim made a recording of fifty songs they loved for Jane’s birthday in September.
Katie and Dan both remembered how they loved hearing Jim read Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne to them as children. So as a Christmas gift to his family this past year, Jim read the book again from cover to cover, out loud, as an audio recording… in his words “for all of my old kids, for my new kids and for all the kids in our family yet to come.”
Jim loved golf, playing cards, reading, cooking, and college sports. He was a trivia champ with a keen sense of humor. He had strength of character, integrity, and an enduring spiritual side. He was my friend.
Even at 81, Jim left too early. But truly, his work was done—and done well, indeed.
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