John LeDell, who battled polio as child, rose to be a top insurance executive and upon his retirement devoted his life to teaching piano and the appreciation of fine music, has passed away at 75. John was a frequent commenter on this site, asked to be a co-blogger and turned out to be one of TMV’s most popular writers and fundraiser promoters.
Here’s the obituary as run in The Star Ledger in New Jersey:
John David LeDell Insurance executive and devoted music teacher, 75
John David LeDell, 75, of Basking Ridge, N.J., died unexpectedly at his home on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
Stricken with polio in 1946 at age 2, John spent thousands of days of his youth in Minnesota hospitals, reading everything he could. He met his wife of 51 years, Ruth Cinder, at work, where he rose to the level of senior vice president at Prudential Insurance Company of America over his 32-year career.
In his second career, spanning 23 years, he became an inspiration for the hundreds of students he taught to love music through playing the piano, the impact of which will be felt for a generation. He is survived by his loving wife, Ruth Cinder, with whom he taught music, his two sons, Aric and Jason, daughter-in-law, Chimgee, and granddaughter, Naomi Amina.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Post-Polio Health International: post-polio.org.
Arrangements are being handled by Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home, Basking Ridge, NJ (908)766-0250. For more information or to leave an online condolence for the family visit www.gcfuneralhome.com
To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
On a personal note, I’m still in a state of shock. John LeDell was a one-of-a-kind person. He was one of the people I was blessed enough to become friends with via the Internet. We never actually talked but we bonded; I cherished him as an original, an original who had enormous compassion, grace and dignity.
John was a frequent presence in comments for some time when he emailed me one day and asked about writing for TMV. He had two reasons: he wanted to write about some things — particularly music — and also help The Moderate Voice with original content. He then became one of the most popular writers on TMV and did it his way in his own style.
We exchanged many emails over the years. And when it came time for fundraisers (TMV could not survive without donations) he not only donated but became the key force in promoting fundraising and matching donations (sometimes triple the donation). He explained that he had seen many blogs and websites die and felt he wanted TMV to survive.
I was always struck by how much he cherished his post-retirement life when he and his wife not only gave piano lessons but instilled in their students an appreciation of great music. He cared so much about every student he had. So he started a series Great Music and it was so good I often told him he should collect his posts and expand on them and do them as a book.
You can read his many posts on many topics over the years HERE. He wrote about his childhood struggle with polio, young people he had met and mentored, joyous and not so joyous slices of life, the Middle-East and more. He’d often email me saying he wanted to do a post because it meant a lot to him.
John LeDell was passionate and caring whether in business, as a loving parent, in his music and his writing.
I view life as a kind of play. We all view the play, which eventually ends. Or we are part of how others view us in a play, which ends.
John was one of the good guys, an unsung hero in the play called life that all who knew him watched.
Some people go through life hurting others and making the earth a more problematical place; he tried to make it a better place for all and positively touched the lives of those who he met…in person…or on the Internet.
I will sorely miss my dear friend John LeDell who went through so much — and gave so much back, multi-fold.
FROM THE MODERATE VOICE’S MANAGING EDITOR CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTES:
I am so sorry one of the best souls has walked onward.
Dear John of the great musical heart, great compassion and warm friendship, you made a difference on earth in times of great tempests. You are wholly blessed thereby. I know your dear students and your son and familia will carry the best of you throughout the world as they sing and play their lives forward. I am sad and miss you already. You being a sane and honest voice here at TMV where we came to know you so well over all these years. Go well dear John. I hear they have a heck of an orchestra in Heaven. You will find and engage in joy there, I know. May all your family and friends John, be comforted in ways that they best understand. May we all go onward in peace and with a heart of justice like yours dear John. May your memory be a blessing to all
dr. clarissa pinkola Estes
managing editor / columnist TheModerate Voice
FROM ATTORNEY G.C. HEALY:
Though we never met, he always seemed to me to be one of the good people of this earth. His clarity of thought will be missed.
ALSO: Be sure to read Dorian de Wind’s post HERE that gives details of John’s incredible story.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.