Former longtime Town Manager of Hartford, Vermont, Ralph "Buddy" Lehman, age 87, passed away on January 22, 2016 at the Brookside Nursing Home in White River Jct., Vermont, surrounded by his family. His passing followed a long struggle with chronic illness.

Ralph was born in Lewiston, Maine on April 27, 1928, the son of William Richard Lehman and Anna Justina Geyer. Drafted into the Korean Conflict, he served as a sergeant in the US Army from 1950-1952. He married Nola Jordan from Lisbon Falls, Maine in 1954 and attended the University of Maine at Orono, graduating with a BA in Public Management in 1959. He was a life member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. After graduation, he and his wife Nola moved to Hartford, Vermont where he served a 35-year career as Town Manager from 1959 to 1994. He was one of the founders of the Vermont League of Cities & Towns in 1967, and while serving as Town Manager he earned a Master's Degree in Environmental Resource Management from Antioch College in 1985. Following retirement, he was able to continue his passion for public service when he was elected to serve two consecutive terms as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1995-1999.

During his tenure as Town Manager, Ralph's leadership and inexhaustible energy helped to place Hartford as one of the premier towns in the state of Vermont for facilitating public works projects and effectively securing grants to fund them. He put his heart and soul into his work and treated town residents as if they were extended family. Ralph was considered among many residents to be a dwindling breed of "hands on" town officials who handled all matters, from the most complex to mundane, with equal zest and interest. He seemed to be everywhere at once and would turn up to solve problems in your back yard just as regularly as at a highway location or a building site. His tolerant, empathetic, non-confrontational, and in-the-streets management style are all qualities that contributed to his longevity and success as the longest serving Town Manager in Vermont at the time he retired, an accomplishment that brought him, and his family, great pride. If you had any interest in government, public service, or the history of Hartford, he would generously offer lessons and insights for as long as you were willing to lend an ear…and then some.

After overcoming his own struggle with alcoholism in 1974, Ralph selflessly committed the rest of his life to sponsoring countless others battling with addiction through the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program, many of which credit him with providing the support and inspiration that led them to their sobriety. The very seat in which he always sat is still being held open for him at Tuesday evening AA meetings.

Over the years you might have also spotted Ralph on a roof or two in the upper valley. While some take up fishing or antique collecting, Ralph considered roofing homes as his hobby. Numerous tumbles off ladders and rooftops, resulted in too many injuries and broken bones to mention, proving that some humans too have "nine lives." After using up his 8th life and at the insistence of his family, he finally relented and took up some safer activities including spending more time with his family, mowing lawns in the community, and picking up garbage along the roadside. Green Up Day for Ralph was every day, year round. He never stopped working to help make his town a better place.

Ralph is survived by his wife Nola; sons Bill Lehman of White River Jct., VT, and Richard Lehman of Kings Beach, CA; daughters Esther Lehman Blatt and husband Eric of Hyde Park, VT, Shelly Smith and husband Eric of White River Jct., VT, and Lisa LaFlam and husband Rick of Wilder, VT; six grandchildren: Kristen Lehman and wife Chandra of Lebanon, NH, Sarah Blatt of Burlington, VT, Justina Smith of Boston, MA, Troy Smith of Burlington, VT, Bailey LaFlam of Boulder, CO, and Garrett LaFlam of Wilder, VT; his sister Barbara Lynn of Auburn, Maine, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents and three sisters Ruth Daigle, Esther Lehman, and Evelyn Lehman.

A memorial service, followed by a reception, will be held at the Wilder Center in Wilder, VT on Saturday, January 30, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. A burial service will be held at the West Bowdoin Cemetery in Bowdoin, Maine in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to the Upper Valley Turning Point's Second Wind Foundation for advancing addiction recovery, 200 Olcott Drive, White River Jct., VT 05001, or on-line at www.secondwindfound.org.