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Aug. 12, 1918 – June 22, 2020

NATCHEZ — Private services were held for life long Natchez resident Elaine Ullman Lehmann, who died on June 22, six weeks shy of her 102nd birthday. Services were under the direction of Laird Funeral home.

Mrs. Lehmann was born August 12, 1918, in Natchez, the daughter of M.M. Ullman Jr. and Mildred Ehrman Ullman. She was born during the height of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and died during the present Coronavirus pandemic.

After graduating from Natchez High School, she attended Louisiana State University and graduated in 1940. She worked at City Bank until 1944, when she joined the Navy as a WAVE and was stationed at the San Diego Naval Hospital. After she retired from the Navy, she married Robert Lehmann in 1946. They were married for nearly 70 years, until Mr. Lehmann’s death in 2016.

In 1946, the Lehmanns joined M.M. Ullman and Company, the general store and clothing retailer started in 1878 by the Ullman family. Ullman’s was an integral part of the Natchez community, and under the Lehmann’s it became a department store and local house of style, with ladies dresses, men’s suits and even a bridal department. For some 40 years, the Lehmanns were recognized in the Miss-Lou community for their partnership, good taste, and ability to provide the area with the finest fashions sourced from quarterly trips to New York.

Mrs. Lehmann also received wide recognition for the Pilgrimage Queen costumes she designed for the Natchez Garden Club with Edythe Piccionne of Alfred Angelo Bridal company of New York. She and her mother, Mildred, put on several musical fashion shows for the benefit of the Junior Auxiliary and other charities.

Mrs. Lehmann was also an active participant in the community at large. An avid reader, she supported and served on the Armstrong Library Board. She was also a member of the Junior Auxiliary, the Natchez Children’s Home, the Natchez Garden Club, Friends of the Natchez City Cemetery, the Natchez Historic Foundation and Temple B’Nai Israel, where she held leadership positions.

She is survived by daughter Mildred Amer and son-in-law Howard Amer of Boca Raton, Florida; two grandchildren, Robin Amer and husband Aaron Jacobson of Chicago; and Daniel Amer and wife Julia Amer of Miami. She is also survived by great-granddaughter Rose Amer and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Barry Tillman and his staff, as well Dr. Kenneth Stubbs and his staff; Ernst Pharmacy; and Marcia Passman, Marty Seibert, and Shields Brown for their constant support. They would also like to acknowledge the loving care provided by Katie Sanders, Joyce Owens, Donna Woodis, Laura Hardin, Rosie Lee Stewart, Rita O’Neal, Eileen Morris, Diane Gaines, Charity Dumas, Adria Harris, Charles Hunt, Henry Jones, and Sherri McClatchy and staff at Deaconess Home Health.

Memorials can be sent to the Natchez City Cemetery, 150 Cemetery Road, Natchez, MS 39120.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.