Larry Dean Fleming, age 75, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 19, 2026, surrounded by his cherished family.
Larry was born on December 22, 1950, in Bluffton, Ohio, to Guy and Ruth (Guider) Fleming and grew up in Ada, Ohio. Larry was preceded in death by his wife of 42 years Thelma (Risner) Fleming; his parents; sister, Roberta Smith; and two brothers: Charles Fleming and Robert Fleming. Larry is survived by a sister, Linda (Fleming) Lawrence.
2026 Alberta and Richard Lee Volunteer Awards: Shining a light on those who help
MEDIA RELEASE__The United Way of Greater Lima, The Lima News, Your Hometown Stations, Cenovus, Milano Café and Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center work cooperatively to bring the Lee Volunteer Awards to Lima/Allen County and its contiguous counties. (Nomination form HERE.)
The local program began in 2025 to continue honoring local volunteers to continue the spirit of the national Jefferson Awards program, which ceased operations in early 2025.
Ohio Northern senior Selby Wilt (Findlay) was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week for the week of Jan. 12-18.
This marks his third career OAC Swimmer of the Week accolade.
The recognition comes after winning three events in a 179-59 victory at Baldwin Wallace on Saturday.
Wilt won the 100-yard freestyle in :49.21 and was on ONU's winning 200 medley relay team, winning in 1:38.20 and 200 free relay team, winning in 1:28.95.
CLICK photos to enlarge / ABOVE Top three and top ten spellers
By Alec Keller
The Ada Schools auditorium buzzed with chatter and encouragement with classes filing in as 10 finalists took center stage at the Ada Exempted Village Schools spelling bee.
On January 16, spelling bee finalists representing grades 4-8 took turns approaching the microphone, with each contestant listening closely as words were read aloud. Students could request definitions or use in a sentence before spelling each word one letter at a time.
