J. C. Ledbetter

Just two months shy of his 100th birthday, J.C. Ledbetter passed away April 10, 2018, in Marietta, Georgia. He had moved there from his lifelong home in Garland to be close to family. J.C. was born in Kaufman County, Texas, but the Ledbetters soon set down roots in Sachse. He started school there as did Helen Ruth Davis, also of Sachse, and in 1935 graduated from Garland High School. A few years later J.C. and Helen began their marriage of 69 years, which lasted until Helen’s death in 2011.

After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, J.C. served stateside and then in England for the duration of World War II. Back in Texas, he enrolled at SMU in 1950 and graduated with honors in two-and-a-half years, all the while working nights. Following graduation he joined the Dallas County Adult Probation Department, which at that time consisted of three officers. In the late 1950s J.C. was named director of the department, by then home to a sizable force. At his retirement from the department in 1982, its officers numbered in the hundreds. J.C. remained professionally active in the probation field, serving on numerous state and national boards and advisory councils. In more recent years he took immense pleasure in socializing with friends and neighbors, both at Chambrel in Garland and at Winnwood Retirement Community in Marietta.

J.C. Ledbetter is survived by his son, Larry D. Ledbetter and his wife Jane, and by his two grandsons and their spouses (William Sachse and Tracy Katagi Ledbetter and John Walker Ledbetter and Kathleen Rast).

Visitation will be held at Charles Smith Funeral Home in Sachse on Saturday, April 14, 2:30-3:30, followed by a family graveside service. In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to the Sachse Cemetery Association, c/o April Aston, 701 O’Phelan Lane, Garland, TX 75044.