Robert D. Ledlie, 94
SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Robert David Ledlie, 94, of Main Street died peacefully Thursday, July 23, 2009, at home surrounded by his daughters. Born in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 20, 1914, the only child of Robert Hershel and Lena Crozier Lyon Ledlie. His mother died suddenly when he was 2 and his father, unable to raise him alone, sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Boyd, whom he called mon and pop. He graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 1932 and said he cherished his time growing up in that wonderful city. He resided in Rockville Centre, N.Y., for many years.
An Army veteran of two wars, he trained troops stateside during World War II and served in a combat engineer battalion in the Korean War.
Mr. Ledlie was employed with S.C. Johnson & Co. and later Chemical Bank, a career that centered on his ability to promote, to market and to advise, living up to his yearbook's claim that he had the gift of a silver tongue. A friend in Sheffield said, "If Bob's eyes didn't captivate you, his words always did."
He met the love of his life, the late Ruth Harriet Combes, when she was a student at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. They married on Oct. 26, 1940, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Rockville Centre. They raised five children, and Mr. Ledlie was active in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, the Republican Party, Kiwanis and the Masons.
Mrs. Ledlie's family had a summer residence in Sheffield, and that home and the friends there grew increasingly in importance to the couple. They moved to Sheffield in 2003 and Mr. Ledlie became active in the Sheffield Historical Society and Christ Church Episcopal and Trinity Lutheran churches. One of his great memories was assisting in the reconstruction of the original covered bridge in Sheffield.
Mrs. Ledlie died on Aug. 22, 2007.
He leaves a son, Robert Ledlie and his wife, Susan, of Rockville Centre; four daughters, Linda Sims and her husband, Jay, of Dana Point, Calif., Karen Krop and her husband, Paul, of Virginia Beach, Va., Cynthia Bush and her husband, Daniel, of Fort Collins, Colo., and Dianne Agoglia and her husband, Kevin, of Merrick, N.Y., 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Funeral services celebrating the life of Mr. Ledlie will be held on Tuesday, July 28, at 2. at Old Parish Church in Sheffield. The Reverend Anne Ryder will conduct the service. Burial will follow in Sheffield Center Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Monday, July 27, from 4 until 6 at Finnerty and Stevens Funeral Home in Great Barrington.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sheffield Land Trust or Tiffany Window Fund through thhe funeral home, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Remembrances, memories and reflections may be sent to the family through www.finnertyandstevens.com.