Elmer A. Ledvina passed away February 13, 2019

Loving husband of the late Rita. Dear father of Mary (Joshua) and Joseph.

Son of the late Matthew and Philomena. Also predeceased by his siblings William, Victor and Matthias.

As a gesture of condolance, memorial donations to the following charities would be greatly appreciated by the family.

IHM Sisters of Monroe Click here to donate

Cure Alzheimer's Fund Click here to donate

Elmer was born on a farm in the heart of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Matthew and Philomena (Jisa) Ledvina, both children of Czech immigrants, who had moved north from a small Czech enclave near Milwaukee. He was the youngest of 4 brothers, preceded in death by Mathias, William, and Victor. He often repeated with gratitude and admiration that his brothers' hard work on the farm allowed him to finish school and help his mother in the house.

When the Korean War began, he enlisted in the Air Force. He served as a radio mechanic, stationed for part of his service in Saudi Arabia. Immediately after his honorable discharge, he followed the example of his best friend, Julian Vandecaveye, and enrolled at Northern Michigan University, getting his degree with a major in chemistry, minors in physics and math, and several courses in education.

He moved to Detroit and tried teaching for a year. In July of 1960, he found a better fit as a lab technician at the Marathon petroleum refinery on the south side of Detroit. After more than 47 years of loyal service, he retired from there at the age of 77. He worked the midnight shift for decades and often volunteered for overtime, sacrificing his sleep to provide for his family.

He met Rita Frankowiak through the Catholic Alumni Club in 1967. He married the love of his life on June 8th, 1968, enjoying 38 incredibly happy and loving years of marriage until she succumbed to metastatic breast cancer in 2006. Their daughter, Mary, was born in 1971, followed by their son, Joseph, in 1973.

Elmer's two greatest avocations were photography and travel. On meticulously planned and charted trips, the family circumnavigated the United States, ventured into Mexico, explored several Canadian provinces, and visited a huge number of landmarks across the country. They tried to visit every state capitol they could, and a trip to Hawaii left them one short of having seen all 50. In between these longer sightseeing journeys, they always found time to visit his family in the U.P. and Wisconsin. In later years, Elmer and Rita extended their travels to overseas, making pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to Rome, where Rita played the organ at a mass offered by Pope John Paul II. The photos from all of these journeys and his documentation of everyday life and milestones fill dozens of albums.

Beginning in the late 80s and early 90s, Elmer and Rita threw themselves into the fight against abortion. He remained unwavering in his belief that abortion is murder, and therefore the greatest injustice occurring in the United States. They attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. every year they were able. He attended even after he was unable to drive and also marched in smaller protests and volunteered in other ways.

He was undeterred from traveling, even after he was no longer allowed to drive. He bused and bicycled all over the Downriver area, even biking 10 miles each way to watch the Detroit Lions practice -- at 83 years of age!! As his dementia continued to advance, he moved into assisted living at Atria Park, in Ann Arbor. He was a continual joker, always trying to make people laugh, whether they were his family, his caregivers, or perfect strangers. Several of the staff at Atria reported that he was their favorite resident, and was extremely popular with all of the residents. He was thankfully spared from the most severe ravages of Alzheimer's: though he could not remember the topic of conversation, he recognized his children and remembered their names right until the sudden illness that precipitated a rapid decline and his deliverance to his final rest.

He was loving husband, father, and a friend to all, and he will be greatly missed by all whose lives were touched by his buoyant generosity.