Bath man headed Spinal Cord Society (Bath, Ohio)

[Wise Young]

Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)

Posted on Tue, Mar. 30, 2004

Bath man headed Spinal Cord Society

Geoffrey Lemmon, 42, earned degree at KSU, helped other patients

By Jim Carney

Beacon Journal staff writer



When Geoffrey Lemmon's family holds a private memorial service for him on Saturday, they'll set up a boom box at an area park and play Beatles music.


``That is what he liked,'' his mother, Betty Lemmon, said.


Mr. Lemmon, 42, died during the night Friday at home in Bath Township.


The Revere High School graduate became paralyzed in an accident on a warm February day in 1990. With temperatures in the 50s, he went for a late-night swim with friends at Indigo Lake in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.


Lemmon dived into shallow water, struck his head and was paralyzed from the neck down. Unable to move his arms or legs, he was placed on a ventilator around the clock.


His injury was similar to that suffered by actor Christopher Reeve.


After the accident, Lemmon finished college, getting a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kent State University.


He was the president of the Northeast Ohio chapter of the Spinal Cord Society, and worked hard to raise money for the organization as well as reach out to newly injured people, Betty Lemmon said.


In a 2000 Beacon Journal interview, Mr. Lemmon said he could handle the difficulties associated with his injury.


``I can take it.... I'm hanging on,'' he said then.


On Friday, Mr. Lemmon went with friends to see the film The Passion of the Christ, his mother said.


He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. James Lemmon, and his brother, Jay Lemmon. He is survived by his mother, who lives in Bath Township; sister and brother-in-law Betty Neva Powers and John Powers of Bath Township; sister Cynthia Stockman of Rochester, N.Y.; brother and sister-in-law Wesley and Lynda Lemmon of Bath Township; and brother and sister-in-law Terry and Chris Lemmon of Doylestown.

Memorials can be sent to the Spinal Cord Society, 19051 County Highway 1, Fergus Falls, MN 56537-7609.

[rstockman001]

Geoffrey Lemmon was my uncle.. today being the 3 year anniversay of his passing away... we all miss him very much.

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by rstockman001

Geoffrey Lemmon was my uncle.. today being the 3 year anniversay of his passing away... we all miss him very much.

It is good to remember him. Wise.