The funniest man in Mount Vernon. A long-time member of the American Legion and Mount Vernon Lions Club.
Previous Citizen of the Year.
Those are just some of the accolades that Fred Lehman had during his roughly 60-years as a citizen of Mount Vernon.
For numerous years, Fred helped lead the Howard Hahn American Legion Post’s Memorial Day festivities at the cemetery. He and Marion, as recounted in a 2015 story in the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun on the couple being named Citizens of the Year by Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group, were dynamic duos for the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. At that time in 2015, Lehman was helping to lead fundraising for the new Veterans Memorial in the Mount Vernon Cemetery. Fred emceed the Memorial Day festivals for a number of years and Marion helped lead the Auxiliary in poppy sales and reading the poem “On Flanders Field.”
The Lehmans said getting involved was just what they did.
“We were asked,” Fred said, in that 2015 interview.
Fred was an active presence at the Bauman’s Coffee Club, celebrating his 100th birthday with his friends there in January 2023.
During the year of COVID he carried on the title of funniest man in Mount Vernon he earned at the Cabin Fever Comedy Festival with his joke a day posted on Facebook, gaining attention from a large audience across the board and continuing a tradition he was known for at the Mount Vernon Lions club.
Kevin and Mike Woods both stated that Lehman was the Legion member who roped them into joining the American Legion following their military service and returning to the area.
“Fred was a very active recruiter for the post for many years, a man of many talents, he wore multiple hats within the post,” Mike said. “He helped keep the post going through some tough times of low membership and participation. A valuable member, Fred really excelled as the finance officer but eventually agreed to hand over that responsibility. At first, Fred was reluctant to hand over the checkbook when Kevin took over as the finance officer. He had been managing the post’s finances for quite a long time, and through his stewardship our accounts were well taken care of through the years.”
Mike said that Fred’s guidance as he took on the leadership role in the post was extremely beneficial, as there were many things he’d already experienced a new leader may not have.
“In fact, we typically would send Fred to meet with external agencies when we had a delicate situation to handle because no one ever said no to Fred,” Mike said.
Fred also maintained his master of ceremonies of the Memorial Day celebration in Mount Vernon up to a couple years ago.
“I think it was his favorite activity,” Mike said. “I told him often he could do as much or as little as he wanted for as long as he wanted.”
Lehman was not only a member of the American Legion. He was also one of the longest serving members of the Mount Vernon Lions Club, having transitioned his membership from West Liberty to Mount Vernon when he moved to the community in 1960. He helped start the Iowa Lions Eye Bank with the West Liberty club. He served as presidents of both the West Liberty and Mount Vernon clubs.
“For many years at Heritage Days, you would find Fred calling Bingo. Fred also loved golf and would always golf at our steak fry and tournament every May,” the club posted.
Fred was the first member of the Mount Vernon club to be presented The Melvin Jones Fellowship, one of the highest honors in Lionism. He also received the Distinguished Service Award for his 70 years of membership to Lionism, as well as The Warren Coleman Honorary Award.
“Fred will be missed at our meetings with his words of wisdom, which usually involved a joke which always delighted everyone in attendance,” the club wrote.
“It was just heartbreaking to hear about Fred’s passing,” said fellow Lion Club member Deb George. “He still participated in the golf tournament and steak fundraiser well into his 90s. He was a pretty amazing person and we were so grateful to get to know him over the years.”
The Lehmans were also heavily involved in their church, Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, serving on the evangelism committee, church board and church choir.
Before coming to Mount Vernon, Fred was also active in West Liberty, serving on the local school board as well as the Lions Club there. He was also active in organizing the Muscatine County Fair.
The couple has also been plenty busy with their family. They have four daughters — Connie Clancey (Marty) of Cedar Rapids, Jean Lehman of Mount Vernon, Lori Reihle of Cedar Rapids and Ann Currie (Jay) of Mount Vernon. They have six grandchildren and three great-grand- children.
Lehman has long impact in Mount Vernon
Nathan Countryman, Editor
June 6, 2024
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.