December 23 2019
Lawrence “Larry” Lehman December 23, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers View Photo Galleries| Upload Photo| Sign Guestbook| View Guestbook Entries| Send Sympathy Card Lawrence “Larry” Lehman passed away, December 23, 2019. He was predeceased by his parents, John and Elizabeth Lehman, his brothers George Lehman and Frank Lehman, his nephew John Lehman, Jr. Larry is survived by spouse Gay Canough, son Alexander Lehman, sisters Mary Lehman Chapman and Barbara Lehman, brothers Jim Lehman and John Lehman. A celebration of Larry’s life is being planned and will be announced shortly. To forward condolences please visit www.demunn.com. Arrangements for the family are directed by the DeMunn Funeral Home. The History of Lawrence “Larry” Lehman as Told by Gay Canough Larry’s life is defined by his important works in materials science, the foundation of ETM Solar Works, his devotion to his family and his love of bicycling. He worked for IBM for 16 years, where he built labs for them and worked tirelessly to improve electronics manufacturing processes. He received 8 patents and 18 awards during that time. His work in this is part of the body of work that keeps all of our data servers humming 24/7. When IBM closed the Endicott plant, Larry chose to work on research projects in the physics department at Binghamton University (BU) rather than move to another IBM plant. There, he pushed forward research in lead-free solders and the understanding of solder processes in general. Binghamton University soon discovered Larry’s lab-building experience and asked him to build the $21 million dollar Analytical Diagnostics Lab at the Innovative Technology Center. He accomplished that task in a miraculously short time of 2 years. Since then, he has managed the lab which has all the fanciest instruments and serves both BU faculty and local companies. Companies come to the lab to figure out to build new products or make existing ones better, mostly for electronics. BU researchers push forward the state of the art, figuring out how to make data servers more energy efficient, studying new kinds of solar cells and how to build better batteries. One of Larry’s colleagues is the 2019 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Larry’s lab is at the center of top-notch research at Binghamton University! Meanwhile, Larry was instrumental in the founding of ETM Solar Works, a company that designs and installs solar energy systems (Endicott NY). He partnered with Gay, supported the household and helped Gay with installations in the early days (using IBM vacation days and weekends). Eventually, ETM hired employees, so Larry did not have to be involved in the day-to-day work. He continued to provide financial support and moral support to the business. Today, while IBM is gone from North St. in Endicott, ETM is still here (300 North St.), having been in business 32 years. Larry always wanted to have kids, but Gay was not too sure. Then one day, her biological time bomb went off and she said, let’s have a kid! One of the best moments of our lives was the birth of our son, Alex in 1990. Being an “only” he always had the full attention of his parents. He turned out fine…topping out at 6’ 6” and working in the family business (ETM). Being a millennial, he is a wiz at computer stuff. Larry and Alex have a very close relationship. Alex never hesitates to help out his old parents. What a great son we have! Gay and Larry met while in graduate school at the University of Notre Dame (about 1983). When Gay and Larry first got together, Gay’s idea of bicycling was purely for transportation. Larry turned her on to “for fun” bicycling. In fact, the 2nd time they saw each other, Gay’s bike had been stolen and Larry offered to give her a bike he no longer was using. That bike (a light-weight French racing bike) only needed a minor repair ($6 for a new pedal). Then we started biking together regularly, just roaming around the countryside looking for the next ice cream shop. Our biking ambitions grew and soon we were going on a 400 mile trip from South Bend, Indiana to Traverse City, Michigan. Larry took Gay on a trip on the Elroy-Sparta trail in Wisconsin and she was hooked! Since those auspicious beginnings (there were very few trails in those days, we took to the back roads), we have done thousands of miles of biking all over the country. These days there are many great, dedicated bike trails and we have done many of the well-known trails in the eastern part of the US. Those include: The Erie Canal trail (NY), the KATY trail (Missouri), the Pine Creek Trail (PA), the Hart-Montague trail and many others in Michigan, the Great Allegheny Passage (PA) and, for our 30th wedding anniversary, we did the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia. Larry and Gay figure they are entangled like quantum entangled particles. They will always be together, riding down the trails of the universe today and always. Print Obituary Sign Guestbook Name: Location: Video: Image: Light A Candle Candle 1 Candle 2 Candle 3 Candle 4 Email: Please keep my message private Personal Message: Personal Message (required) Confirm: Submit Guestbook entry
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Lawrence Larry Lehman December 23 2019.
Death notice for the town of: Binghamton, state: New York
So sorry to see this Gay! Larry was a good friend to Denny and I enjoyed listening in on some of their deep conversations in those early years.