Dr. James Luther Ledbetter or “Doc" as he was known was born on May 17, 1913 in the Bryan Chapel Community near Boatman in Mayes County, Oklahoma. He was the eighth child of the nine children of Thomas Lewis Ledbetter and Amanda Elizabeth Thomas. Amanda had been born in Trigg County, Kentucky, but as a child had moved by covered wagon with her family to Arkansas and then later into Oklahoma.
He graduated from Pryor High School in 1931 as class salutatorian. He graduated from Northeastern State College in 1935, and then he earned his master’s degree in 1940 from Oklahoma State University, and later his Doctoral Degree in 1964 from the University of Tulsa.
He served in the United States Navy from 1942 through 1945, where he taught math techniques of weight and balance control to officers who flew military cargo aircraft during World War II He was an engineer for McDonnell Douglas in Convair and contributed to the design of the B52 Bomber.
On July 9, 1944, he married Mildred Morgan of Nashville, Tennessee and they became the parents of two children, a son, Allen and a daughter, Marlis.
He settled down as a professor at Northeastern State University located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma less than an hour southeast of Tulsa, in the heart of Oklahoma's Green Country and nestled at the foot of the Ozark Mountains.
On January 25, 2003, Dr. Ledbetter was one of two men who were inducted into Northeastern University’s Athletic Hall of Fame at Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The other inductee was Virgil Knight, Assistant Coach with the Green Bay Packers and one of Dr. Ledbetter’s former students.
He was recognized for his meritorious service for his tireless work in the athletic department. He had served as NSU Athletic Ticket Manager for more than 40 years, was sponsor for NSU’s Baptist Student Union for 20 years, and was faculty representative for the Division of Practical Arts at NSU. He had taught 21 year at NSU in the Department of Industrial Arts, Education and Technology.
Present for the ceremony, which was preceded by a formal dinner, were his wife and all of Dr. Ledbetter's children and grandchildren along with several of his relatives from Pryor, Oklahoma.
He was also inducted into the Who's Who of South and Southwest for education excellence. He was a deacon in the First Baptist Church for 45 years, where he was also a Sunday school teacher for more than 35 years. He also served as president of the local Lion’s Club.
James died on August 4, 2007 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma at the age of 94, leaving behind his wife of 63 years. He was buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Pryor, Oklahoma.
THE LINEAGE:
(James Luther Ledbetter was the son of Thomas Lewis and Amanda Elizabeth Thomas Ledbetter, the grandson of James Clark “Muck” and Elizabeth Josephine Lawrence Thomas and the great-grandson of James Jr., and Martha Ethridge Thomas. James, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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