Orland Lehman

I’ve had Orland Lehman in my life for almost my entire life. He may not have been my blood relative, but he definitely felt like my brother. The sense of loss I have experienced in his passing is massive. Orland was never front and centre in my life but the love he brought to my family is irreplaceable. I am struggling to imagine the world without him in it.

I learned a lot about leadership while Orland went through his final battle, and even more after his death. I could never quite put a finger on the specifics of what he brought to the table but his influence is undeniable. Orland was the irrefutable leader of my family, the alpha of alphas. Listening to his eulogy, I realized Orland’s influence on his eleven siblings was even more profound than his influence on me. Listening to the stories his brothers shared helped me understand, despite Orland’s limited direct involvement in my life, why he was, and continues to be, a major influence on me.

Leadership comes in many guises. Orland’s has been guiding and protecting me for over forty years. The emptiness that has been left in my heart with Orland’s death will never be filled. It can’t be filled. I will do my best to step up and provide some of the leadership that Orland brought to our family. Those are mighty big shoes to fill. I miss you Orland.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” - C.S. Lewis (1893 - 1963)