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Barbara Taylor Lehmann, age 82, passed away peacefully at home with her family in Port Aransas, Texas on April 17, 2009. She never smoked but fought her lung cancer for almost four years and enjoyed life to the end. She was born March 27, 1927 in Syracuse, New York and graduated from High School in Syracuse with a New York State full tuition scholarship to Syracuse University. She helped pay for college by working on B-24 bombers in 1945, an electrical factory in 1946, and the City Health Lab in 1947. In the Spring Quarter 1946, she was a Physics student with a Lab Instructor Bill Lehmann, who had just returned from WWII. In the Fall Quarter of 1946 she registered for an advanced course in Physics while her previous Lab Instructor was working at Registration two tables down. He noticed, she noticed, they had a horseback riding date that weekend, and they got married two years later. Barbara earned her BS and MS in Foods Chemistry at Syracuse while Bill earned his MS and Ph.D. in Physics. They both were elected to the Physics Honorary Sigma Pi Sigma and Barb earned a patent in foods and was elected to full membership in the National Scientific Honorary Sigma Xi. They joined the Faculty of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Field in Dayton, OH as Air Force Civilians where they began their family of four daughters and one son. She did all the work to move them to the Pentagon, then to Bolling Air Force Base, and then Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico where her husband became the first Civilian Director of the Air Force Weapons Lab. She served as the first Air Force Civilian on the Board of the Kirtland Officers' Wives Club. They joined the University of New Mexico Faculty in 1986 and are members of the UNM Popejoy Society. They retired and moved to Port Aransas in 1992. Barbara served over 50 years with the Girl Scouts; her last troop was in Albuquerque. She was active with Albuquerque Rotary Club Wives where Bill as a Paul Harris Fellow. She was active with St. John's and St. Marks-on-the-Mesa Episcopal Churches in Albuquerque. She loved and is loved by her children Jody Nelson of Virginia, Rick Lehmann of Texas, Kathy Williams of Delaware, Wendy Wulff of Arizona, and Christi O'Conner of Los Lunas, NM. She has 11 grandchildren and one and a half great-grandchildren, including grandson Billy Lehmann and great-granddaughter Isabela Lehmann in Albuquerque. She donated her body to the UT Houston Medical Center. A Memorial Service will be held at Trinity-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Port Aransas at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3, 2009. Donations may be made to Trinity-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, PO Box 346, Port Aransas, TX 78373 for its community outreach.
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