Theodore “Ted” Lessman was born on February 6, 1924, in Lambert, MT to Joseph and Cecilia (Morzek) Lessman. He was the youngest of the children, Richard, Virginia, Bob, and Ted. They lived in Lambert until Ted was in the 3rdgrade when they moved to Sidney. He quit school after the 8th grade and went to work on various farms and ranches, because he wanted to be a cowboy riding horses. Ted was united in marriage to Kathryn Wilson, on December 24, 1943, in Sidney, MT. They had three children; George, Kathi and Scott. Six weeks after his marriage he was drafted and decided to join the paratroops to get more pay. They traveled on the Queen Mary to the European Theatre where they were trucked into the Battle of the Bulge. He was with the 507th PIR of the 17th Airborne Division. He spent Christmas of 1944 freezing his butt off. Ted was transported out with frozen feet and spent several months in hospitals in Germany and England. He received the Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound to his back area.
While on leave in Sidney waiting for orders to the Pacific Theater, Ted was helping at his father-in-law’s lumber yard where he lost 4 fingers in a table saw accident. After his honorable discharge in 1945, he worked various places until Ted became a truck driver until his retirement. His wife Kathryn died in 1990 and Ted remained in Sidney. His mother’s friend, Emma Graham, came into his life and his life got good again.
One of Ted’s sayings was: “When you come my way, stop and say Hi.”
Ted died on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, at the Eastern Montana Veterans Home in Glendive, MT.
Surviving him are: Emma Graham, Sidney, MT; his son, Scott (Sherry) Lessman, Sidney, MT; his daughter, Kathi Harrison, Indio, CA; his sister, Virginia Peterson, Billings, MT; 8 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by: his parents, wife-Kathryn, son-George, two brothers-Richard and Bob and a granddaughter-Theresa.