Richard Lenon Obituary

Lenon, Richard A. Died Sunday October 2, 2011 at his home in Glenview, Illinois. He was born August 4, 1920, near Sunfield, a small farming town in central Michigan. His grandfather was a local farmer, and when Richard was born, his 20 year old father was advancing rapidly at the town's grain elevator, which he eventually came to own. Mr. Lenon graduated from Western Michigan University in 1941, where he met and married Helen F. Johnson. They both moved on to Northwestern University where Mr. Lenon was in the graduate school as a Montgomery Ward Intern. Pearl Harbor intervened, and Mr. Lenon entered the Navy as an officer, where he served from 1942 to 1947. After the war, Mr. Lenon returned to Wards but was called to the Korean conflict as a lieutenant commander. Upon returning from that service, he was again employed by Wards. Shortly thereafter he started his career with International Mineral and Chemical (IMC). Except for a brief break at Westinghouse Airbrake from 1963 to 1967, where he served as Vice President of Finance, his entire career was at IMC. He was President and then Chairman, from 1970 to 1985. IMC was one of the world's leading producers of fertilizer. With exports being a large part of the business, Mr. Lenon traveled all over the world and made many international friends. Mr. Lenon was a respected corporate leader who greatly valued the many employees who worked with him. A Northwestern Kellogg School of Business lecturer frequently told his students, "Dick Lenon was the last of the great corporate leaders who truly understood and embraced the importance of the corporate workforce." Along with his responsibilities at IMC, Mr. Lenon served on the boards of five large New York Stock Exchange companies, and as Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry, Museum of Contemporary Art, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Evanston Northwestern Hospital. Mr. Lenon was known for his interest in contemporary art and supported many diverse, local and national charities. He is survived by his children Richard, Pamela and Lisa; four grandchildren; his sister Joan Trezise and her three children and nine grandchildren.