Lee Rudolph Redmond, Jr. died February 13, 2021. Funeral services will be at graveside on Wednesday, February 24, at 11:00 am. Family will greet friends after the ceremony. He was born to Lee Rudolph and Kathleen Davis Redmond on August 24, 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Walnut Hills High School before enrolling at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA. After entering the Army Air Corps in 1942, he served as a pilot instructor flying his beloved P-51 Mustangs and completed his service as a 1st Lieutenant.
After the war he returned to Washington & Lee to complete his undergraduate degree in 1946, whereupon he entered the W & L Law School. In 1948 he married Mary Johnson McDuffie of Columbus, GA and the young couple spent Lee’s last year in law school at W & L, where he graduated in 1949. His years in Virginia and the friends he made always held a special place in his heart. Lee was a varsity athlete, swimming competitively all through high school, college and law school.
In 1950 they moved to Columbus, GA where Lee began his long legal career specializing in real estate, first with Thompson and Thompson, then Thompson and Redmond and then Thompson, Redmond, Nicolson and Ray, from which he retired at the age of 86. He was a Little League coach and served on the boards of Trust Company of Columbus, WYEA – Channel 38, and Goodwill Industries.He was a charter member of The Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus and always enjoyed their annual Vidalia Onion fundraising sale.He was a longtime member of the Big Eddy Club as well as the Columbus Bar Association. He enjoyed tennis and golf, though his golf group was known more for their humor than for cutthroat competition. He never missed a chance to go bird hunting and was a terrific shot. He loved growing citrus fruit and was well known for his potent horseradish sauce.
He loved people and he loved his friends and his family and he especially loved telling a good story, of which he had a bottomless supply. He was a loving father with a great sense of fun and the wish for his children to be capable, independent and determined in pursuing the things that interested them. He and his beloved wife Mary enjoyed travelling whenever possible until her death in 2015.
Lee was predeceased by his wife, his parents and his 3 sisters. He is survived by his children Lee Rudolph Redmond III (KC), Frances Malone (Booth), James Redmond (Leigh) and Lucile Flournoy (Tom); his grandchildren Marshall Redmond, Katie Lindsay, Courtney Rambo, Parker Redmond, Lee Redmond IV, Lucy Flournoy and Betsy Flournoy. He is also survived by 8 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
He remained close to his former law partners Perrin Nicolson, Steven Ray and Peyton Turner. Special thanks to Lori Cooper of Divine Dinners. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, The Springer Theater, or Grace Presbyterian Church.
