Bruce Charles Lemon, 1937-2012: Financial exec served at several local firms
8/20/2012Bruce Charles Lemon, a longtime financial executive at several prominent Toledo firms and a devoted family man, died Thursday at his home in Maumee. He was 75.
Family members said he died of complications from Parkinson's and heart diseases.
A native of Napoleon -- where he met his future wife, Betty -- Mr. Lemon came from modest beginnings, son David Lemon said, with a father who was a mechanic. He worked his way up the corporate world after graduating from the University of Toledo.
He worked for years at Scholz Homes, eventually becoming vice president of finance. When the company moved to Arizona, he was forced to choose between uprooting his family or staying in the Toledo area.
He chose in favor of family.
Always good with numbers and management, he continued in his career as vice president of commercial lending at Ohio Citizens Bank, then for 15 years was vice president of finance at Hardy & Dischinger Co., a commercial steel corporation, and finally was corporate controller for steel companies Ronfeld Inc. and K & C Supply.
"He was probably comfortable being the brains behind the operation," Tom Lemon, director of the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commission, said of his father.
He was a man of principle, both in his business and personal life, his family said, except when it came to desserts. Timelines for appropriate consumption of sweets were often ignored at family gatherings, his children said.
Mr. Lemon's children have as a group found considerable success in their own careers. Son Michael Lemon and daughter Mary Beth Crawford are both doctors, while David Lemon is a lawyer. Son Steve Lemon is vice president of engineering for a genetic testing company in California, and Tom has risen in Lucas County administration.
Mr. Lemon's children attributed their success to their parents' focus on education, and their father's strong example. "I think we owe a large part of our success to the role model that our father was," David Lemon said.
Mr. Lemon is survived by his wife, Betty, daughter Dr. Mary Beth Crawford, sons Dr. Michael Lemon, Tom Lemon, Steve Lemon, and David Lemon, sisters Marianne Lemon and Luann Worchuk, 14 grandchildren, and a great-grandson.
Mr. Lemon saw video of his newly born great-grandson just days before he died, something that his family said brought him peace in his final hours.
Visitation was Sunday at Coyle Funeral Home, 1770 S, Reynolds Rd., and is scheduled today between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 5856 Heatherdowns Blvd.
Services will be at 10 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc.
The family suggests tributes be sent to Hospice of Northwest Ohio or Notre Dame Academy.
Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086.