Today Cal Lehman is content. At 85, the Starr alumnus reflects on his life with a sense of pride while recalling his accomplishments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be a CEO of a big company to be successful,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cI have a lot to be grateful for. I just hope I can give something back.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t always so satisfied. In fact he said he used to be very hard on himself, too much of a perfectionist. He views himself as a run-of-the-mill guy, but the circumstances he faced as a child make his story anything but average.<\/p>\n
Lehman grew up in South Haven, Michigan. He describes his father as distant, a man who didn\u2019t seem to have time for his children. This led to Lehman acting out, running away from home on multiple occasions. His mother was the stabilizing factor in the family, he recalls, but even she couldn\u2019t handle his increasingly poor behavior.<\/p>\n
His first experiences with school were negative as well. Lehman recalls a first-grade teacher who tried to get the left-hander to write with his right hand. He refused, and she sent him off to the corner of the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the simple fact that I was left-handed, I was removed from the rest of the class,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cI was treated as different, and that was a humiliating experience for me. It was something as simple as that event that led to me disliking school.\u201d<\/p>\n
School challenges coupled with his troubling situation at home created a toxic environment all around.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents recognized that I was having problems socializing and with my attitude,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cI was not happy at home or in school, so my parents began looking into programs. Through the grape vine they heard about Starr, so my parents took a trip and spoke to some of the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once Lehman arrived at Starr in 1944, his attitude began to change. He began relating to the boys with whom he lived, and he was surrounded by caring adults.<\/p>\n
He joined the choir, played sports and even became an honorary driver for Floyd Starr, a position he coveted but would eventually lose because of a poor decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat really taught me a valuable lesson,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cI had something taken away that I really cared about. It was discipline at the right time for me. You don\u2019t always get that at home. I definitely learned from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After two years at Starr, Lehman and his family determined he was ready to come home. He would later realize it was too soon to leave the program. He enlisted in the Air Force and would serve from 1946-49, traveling overseas to Asia before returning to Michigan.<\/p>\n
Upon returning home, where Lehman would live until getting married, the problems that occurred prior to Starr began to reemerge. He finished his high school requirements, married his wife, Donna, and began his career.<\/p>\n
Lehman worked in furniture sales for many years, moving out of state for a period of time before eventually returning to Michigan. Tragically his wife would pass away at a young age, due in part to complications stemming from rheumatic fever she had as a child. The couple never had children.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing my wife was a hard time, of course,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cFor a while there, I just didn\u2019t care anymore. It was hard to overcome that moment in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
But throughout his difficult experiences, Lehman leaned heavily on memories of his time at Starr.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarr is always in the background,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cWith every aspect of my life, I\u2019m always thinking about Starr. It was so structured, exactly what I needed at the time. We learned a certain way to make the bed, where you pull the sheet on the corner and tuck it so it\u2019s perfect. I still do that today. You can never forget something that was so meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehman has supported Starr through donations for several years, but he wasn\u2019t engaged with any staff members for much of that time. Upon receiving a call from a member of Starr\u2019s development team, Lehman got back in touch with the organization that has meant so much to him.<\/p>\n
In October 2013, he attended Starr\u2019s 100th anniversary Founder\u2019s Day celebration with a friend who encouraged him to go. It was his first time back at Starr since his days as a student.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friend persuaded me to come to Founder\u2019s Day, and I\u2019m so glad I did,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cHe was so impressed with Starr, and for someone to see it for the first time like he did, I was happy that he was so impressed. It felt really good for me to be back. I had no idea the extent of all the changes that Starr has made, from working with autism to everything else. It\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of his experience as a student at Starr and what it has meant to him, Lehman has generously included Starr in his estate plans. He said despite the changes and advancements in society since his time at Starr, this work is still very necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to give back to the organization that has done so much for me,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cIt would be the most important thing I\u2019ve ever done, to give back, to help children. Floyd was so passionate, so sincere in his caring for troubled kids that he dedicated his life to it. Today that is still true. Everything they do at Starr is for the good of people. You can\u2019t ask for more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today Cal Lehman is content. At 85, the Starr alumnus reflects on his life with a sense of pride while recalling his accomplishments. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be a CEO of a big company to be successful,\u201d Lehman said. \u201cI have a lot to be grateful for. I just hope I can give something back.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"coauthors":[13],"class_list":["post-916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donor-profiles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n