Leland Morris Edman

Leland M. "Lee" Edman was raised to new life with the Lord Jesus Christ early Monday morning January 7, 2013. Born in Fresno on July 1, 1922, Lee loved life, everything about it, for 90 years. Raised in Madera, the central valley and the surrounding mountains were special to him all his life, and many of the activities and achievements in his life reflect his love of nature.

Lee graduated from Madera Union High School in 1940, was an Eagle Scout, attended Fresno State College in 1940 until he joined the Navy Air Cadets and became an experimental squadron pilot and platoon leader. About this time he also joined the Masonic Lodge. In 1946 he left active service and joined the Naval Reserve and returned to finish college at Fresno State. There he met his wife of 64 years, Verna Catich Edman, and they married in 1948. Graduating from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1950 was the next big achievement in his very full life, followed by a law career that included working with the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, being a founding partner in Edman and Sanderson at Law, being appointed to the California State Adult Authority by then Governor Ronald Reagan, and being Dean of the Department of Public Safety at Fresno City College where his class in Constitutional Law was one of the most popular classes at the school during the years he taught there. He never really retired, moving from a law career to become a successful landscape oil painter with many awards, gallery shows and sales during the last part of his life.

Of his many achievements, he seemed proudest of these three: His part in having Kaiser Ridge in the Sierra Nevada mountains declared a wilderness area, thereby preventing clear cutting of a treasured place. The success of his painting and how he had preserved a bit of unspoiled scenic California for future generations to enjoy on canvas. And his years teaching and inspiring students to understand and care about the US Constitution.

Lee was a member of Northwest Church, The Boy Scouts Of America, the California Bar Association, the Las Palmas Ponderosa Lodge, the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and Tehran Shrine, Alliance of California Artists, a Signature Artist with the Society of Western Artists, and a past president of the Huntington Lake Association.

His brother, Kenneth and his infant son, Eric preceded him in death.

Lee was devoted to his family and constant in his expressions of love toward them.

He is survived by his wife Verna; three daughters, Janet Edman Lind of Edmonds Wa and her husband, Chip; Lynn Gasser of Petaluma Ca, her husband Nolan and their children Camille and Preston; Karen Edman Hartung of Chowchilla Ca, her husband Brad; and her son, Axel Crossan; and sister-in-law Aileen Catich Martin, and her husband Pat.

A Graveside Service will be held at Belmont Memorial Park, 201 N. Teilman Ave, Fresno, on Monday, January 14, 2013, at 11:00 am followed by a memorial service and luncheon at Northwest Church Chapel, 5415 N. West Ave, Fresno at noon. All friends of the family are welcome to both events.

If you should wish, remembrances may be made to Northwest Church, 5415 N West Ave, Fresno, Ca 93711; Hinds Hospice, 1616 W Shaw Ave, Fresno, CA 93711; or Shrine Crippled Children's Hospital, c/o Shrine Temple, 5407 Olive, Fresno, Ca 93727.