By Allen Howard
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dr. Lemon

Dr. Luther Judson Lemon belonged to the corps of black doctors who were pioneers.

"He was one of the doctors that gave us encouragement to go into medicine." said Dr. Charles Dillard, who as a child watched Dr. Lemon practice medicine in the West End.

"He stayed abreast of medicine in his later years. I have attended educational conferences with him and he was always up to date.''

Dr. Lemon, of Avondale, died Monday at Deaconess Hospital in Clifton of pneumonia. He was 88.

For 50 years in Cincinnati, Dr. Lemon practiced family medicine, making house calls, treating an entire family, delivering babies and serving the elderly.

"He was probably the greatest person and greatest father. He had a passion for life and a love for people,'' said his daughter, Jan-Michelle Lemon Kearney of North Avondale. She is editor of the Cincinnati Herald, the Northern Kentucky Herald and the Dayton Defender.

"He lived his life to the fullest and encouraged others to do the same by always challenging man's inhumanity to man.''

Dr. Lemon was born in McDonough, Ga. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta as the salutatorian, winning a scholarship to Talladega College, Talladega, Ala.

He majored in chemistry then went on to graduate from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn., in 1940. He did his internship and residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis.

He volunteered to serve in the Army in World War II. He was commander of all medical operations in the British Solomon Islands as a major, and was awarded the Bronze Star.

He arrived in Cincinnati in 1947 and started a family practice. He served on the staffs of Catherine Booth, Jewish, Deaconess, Providence and Old St Mary's hospitals.

Dr. Lemon received the Bicentennial award from the city of Cincinnati, designation as a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and certificates of distinction from the Ohio State Medical Association and the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati.

When he was 80, he joined a picket line in Avondale to protest plans to turn an Avondale playground into a parking lot.

The Avondale Community Council honored him for his commitment to the community and his family medicine practice in Avondale.

Deaconess Hospital bestowed on him the rank of Honorary Staff in recognition of many years of service, including as chairman of the hospital's Family Medicine Department.

He was a member of Mount Zion United Methodist church, now New Vision United Methodist Church, and a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

He was the father of another daughter, the late Dr. Norma Celeste Lemon.

He was the father-in-law of attorney Eric H. Kearney, president of Sesh Communications, and is also survived by a granddaughter, Emerson Celeste Flora Kearney, and by nieces, nephews and aunts.

Service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at New Vision United Methodist Church, Walnut Hills.

Visitation is 9:30 a.m., Saturday at the church. Service by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity's Omega Ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Burial will be in Spring Grove Cemetery.

Contributions can be made to Rockdale Academy Health Center, 305 Rockdale Ave., Cincinnati 45229.

E-mail ahoward@enquirer.com