John Noah Lehr was born on January 20 1935 to Otis Walker and Opal Jarvis in Chandler, Oklahoma and passed away Saturday, July 2, 2016, at his home in Edmond at the age of 81.

He joined the Navy at the age of 16 and served four years active duty and four years inactive, and then attended college at Central State University, where he received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. In the early 1960s John was involved in the IOOF lodge and remained a member for life.

John was hired by the Oklahoma City Police Department in 1965, and he worked there for more than 22 years. He worked as a K9 officer for many years alongside his partner, Skipper, before working his way up the ranks to Detective in the Youth Crime Prevention unit (Youth Bureau). He also taught classes to other police officers. John investigated and filed the first child, human trafficking case, resulting in the first conviction in the state of Oklahoma, and was presented with a Detective of the Year award, among many other awards. He retired from the department in 1988 due to an injury to his neck.

After his retirement, he took over the upholstery shop business that his in-laws had owned. He also enjoyed genealogy, spending many hours on the computer researching and downloading photos that he gathered from various sources. He would go to cemeteries all over Oklahoma, taking pictures of headstones and then posting them online for people who were trying to locate their relatives. He received a lot of calls and emails thanking him for his work.

Survivors include his wife, Linda Lee Lehr; three children, Lorene Gidget Lehr (Snowden), John Wayne Lehr, Felicia Irene Lehr (Jones); six grandchildren, Brandon Lehr, Anthony Holmes, Charles Holmes, Cameron Lehr, Christopher Lehr, Amber Jones; and two great-grandchildren, Carter and Caden Holmes.

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