ELEANOR MARGARET LEHMAN

MIDDLEBURY — Eleanor Margaret Lehman was born Sept. 25, 2007, and left this world May 7, 2026. Eleanor was a deep thinker whose tender heart ached to heal the suffering in the world. She was an artist who created expressive line drawings and exquisite diagrams. She listened to the beat of her own drum and experienced so much of the world in her own full-hearted way. Sadly, she often felt out of place in school, community and social settings. As a young adult, she found her homes at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School, The Teen Center in Middlebury and in her treasured friends (some of them feathered or furry).

Eleanor was keenly analytical, frustratingly logical and deeply philosophical. She had a quirky sense of humor with a deadpan delivery that expressed layers of meaning. She enjoyed Shape-Note singing, incredibly complicated board games, playing guitar, and debating subjects as varied as Freud, game theory, Anabaptism and the effect of media on society. She started a victory garden to support those in need of food. Extremely knowledgeable, she wrote insightful zines on such topics as digital freedom and how to achieve it. At the same time, depression was a thorn in her side, even when she was experiencing joy and gladness.

Eleanor encouraged us all to reconsider the language we speak and the way we think. A devoted advocate for social justice, she challenged everyone to be a part of what she knew the world could be. In her wake, she left a budding social movement and solidarity economy she worked to build. Like a comet, she shone in our lives for a beautiful, bright and too brief time.

She is survived by her mother, Tanya Lehman and stepfather Stephen Morse; her father, Kevin Lehman and stepmother Jennifer Wasiura; her grandparents Sam and Treva Kurtz; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and stepfamily.

We’re grateful for your love and support. If you would like to honor Eleanor, memorial donations may be made to Abolitionists in Action in Shoreham, Vt., in her memory (ko-fi.com/abolitioninactionfarms). Eleanor volunteered her time for AIA to make “ecobricks” from waste plastic for building free housing, garden beds and furniture.

A memorial service for Eleanor will be held at CVUUS, 2 Duane Court, in Middlebury, Vt., on Sunday, May 31, at 2 p.m. Visit cvuus.org for parking information. ◊