Thomas R. Lemon

What was a loss for this world was a gain for heaven with the passing of Thomas Ridley Lemon, 83, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Hospice House in Bloomington.

With gifts and passions encompassing a wide array of human endeavors, Lemon’s life story is among the truly remarkable. Born to Thomas L. and Bettie Lemon in Bloomington on Nov. 10, 1941, Lemon, like so many generations of the family before him, was raised in that southern Indiana town, where he graduated from University High School. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Indiana University, he attended the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, receiving his J.D. degree in 1966, cum laude with Order of the Coif honors. Lemon commenced his distinguished legal career that same year as law clerk for Judge Hugh P. Dillon of the U.S District Court in Indianapolis. Lemon and his growing family then moved to Warsaw in 1967 where he spent the greater part of his 55-year-long legal career. Upon retirement, Lemon and his wife, Jo, returned to Bloomington, where he would enjoy the remainder of his years.

Lemon, a longtime trial attorney and mediator who earned statewide, national and international acclaim for his skills as an advocate, litigator and legal mind, invested the early decades of his law practice as chief trial counsel for the Zimmer corporation and as attorney for Grace College and Seminary. Much of the last 30 years of his law practice was devoted to his service as a civil mediator. Often regarded as “the godfather of mediation” in Indiana, Lemon was among the very first attorneys in the state who championed this then-innovative approach to conflict resolution. He would ultimately serve as mediator in many thousands of cases arising in all 92 Indiana counties.

The honors and distinctions Lemon earned during those many years in the law were numerous, with a few being president of the Indiana State Bar Association, a member of the board of governors of that association, member of the coveted American College of Trial Lawyers, faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, member of the alumni board of Indiana University Law School, Bloomington, inductee to the Indiana University Academy of Law Alumni Fellows, and the primary trainer of the Indiana Supreme Court Certified Mediation Program with the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum for nearly three decades (where, coincidentally, daughter Lara Lemon has long served as registrar).

As important as his legal career was for Thomas Ridley Lemon, his professional achievements took a distant fourth place in his life to the things which will truly define his legacy: his Christian faith, his marriage and his family, all of which took priority over all other pursuits. On June 9, 1962, Lemon married the love of his life, Betty Jo (McFarren) Lemon, to whom he would devote his life for almost 63 years. The Lemon family has attended the Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church for more than 55 years.

Thomas Ridley Lemon is survived by his wife, Jo; three children, Lisa Chudy (husband Jeff), Lara Lemon and Doug Lemon (wife Nikki); as well as nine grandchildren, Josh Chudy, Cade Chudy (wife Lavinia), Cole Chudy, Jacob Chudy (wife Alex), Callie Jo Chudy, Emma (née Lemon) Beer (husband Alex), Rebecca (née Lemon) Bergman (husband Ben), Thomas Ridley Lemon II and Sadie Jo (née Lemon) Hatfield (husband Brock). At last count, Lemon also leaves eight great-grandchildren.

Thomas Ridley Lemon was an inspiration to his family in the vast array of interests he enjoyed and passed down: hunting, fishing, bare boat sailing numerous times in the Caribbean, scuba diving, piloting aircraft, camping, world traveling, dog lover, playing poker, reading, watching movies and absorbing history. Among Lemon’s greatest triumphs were the secret missions at locales far and wide to which he would take his kids and grandkids, where he always assumed the daring and dashing role of “Agent 008.”

Together with his immediate family, Thomas Ridley Lemon is survived by his brother, Tim Lemon (Karen); nieces, Amy Lemon and Mollie Lemon; and his siblings, Tracey Lemon, Jim Lemon and the extended Kirby, Bunnell and McFarren families. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas L. Lemon and Bettie (Lemon) Silverstein; stepfather, Nate Silverstein; siblings, Rebecca and Kathryn; and stepbrother, Louis Silverstein.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at the Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Warsaw, with a time of fellowship to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the Hospice House, Bloomington.