Horace Ladymon

Horace Russell Ladymon
Born	(1929-07-16) July 16, 1929 Paris, Lamar County Texas, USA
Residence	Former: Marshall Harrison County Texas, USA Current: Shreveport Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Alma mater	University of Texas
Occupation	Businessman: Former president of Beall-Ladymon Corporation
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Jo Jane Ramsaur Ladymon (married c. 1951-2009, her death)
Children	Debbie Ladymon Auerbach Becky Ladymon DeKay Five grandchildren
Parent(s)	Raymond Cleo and Lennie Adell Holcomb Ladymon

Horace Russell Ladymon (born July 16, 1929) is a self-employed investor in Shreveport, Louisiana, who is the former president of the defunct Beall-Ladymon Corporation, which once operated forty-nine department stores in five U.S. states.

Business career

Based in Shreveport, Beall-Ladymon was founded in 1951 when W. F. Beall and Ladymon's father, Raymond C. Ladymon (1908-1993), opened stores in five North Louisiana locations, including the Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Minden, Ruston, Jonesboro, and Mansfield. Beall died in 1953, and "R. C." Ladymon, as he was known, was elevated from the company vice presidency to the presidency. The company had thirteen outlets in Arkansas: Arkadelphia, Camden, Conway, Crossett, El Dorado, Fort Smith, Hope, Hot Springs, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Russellville, and Searcy. A store in the capital city of Little Rock closed c. 1993.

In 1974, Horace Ladymon became president of the company; R. C. Ladymon, the chairman of the board. The company began consolidating in 1992 but faced continued financial woes which prompted the sale to Stage.

In 1994, Horace Ladymon sold the company for an undisclosed amount of money to Specialty Retailer, Inc., of Houston, Texas. The former Beall-Ladymon outlets then began operating under the name Stage Stores, Inc. Other Specialty Retailer stores are Palais Royal, Fashion Bar, and an unrelated "Bealls" department store. Beall-Ladymon employed nationally more than four hundred full-time and another four hundred part-time persons. Ladymon said that he had negotiated the sale with Specialty Retailer for more than three years: "Their merchandise mix and method of operation are very similar to ours, and they are committed to growth which will be beneficial to the communities we serve as well as to our company associates." Stage stores offer such brand names as Liz Claiborne, Levi Strauss, Elizabeth Arden, Jockey International, Inc., Guess, and Van Heusen.

Personal life

Ladymon was born in Paris in Lamar County in northeastern Texas. His parents, parents, Raymond Cleo Ladymon and the former Lennie Adell Holcomb (1907-1966), are interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Paris, Texas. After Lennie's death, Raymond Ladymon married in 1969 the former Mary Katherine Bateman Allen (1919-2000), a native of Memphis, Tennessee. She is buried at Winnfield Cemetery in Winnfield in Winn Parish, Louisiana. Her first husband, Lyndon Blaine Allen (1918-1963), was a son of former U.S. Representative A. Leonard Allen of Louisiana's 8th congressional district, since disbanded.

Ladymon was married to, until her death of cancer, the former Jo Jane "J. J." Ramsaur (1930-2009), a native of Kerville, Texas, and the daughter of Stewart Ramsaur, M.D. She was reared in Marshall in Harrison County in East Texas. There are two Ladymon daughters, Debbie Auerbach (husband Dr. Mark Auerbach) of Easton in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, and Becky DeKay (husband Roger) of Shreveport, and five grandchildren. Both Ladymons attended the University of Texas in Austin; he graduated in 1951 and listed his hometown at the time as "Marshall, Texas". Mrs. Ladymon is interred at Colonial Gardens Cemetery in Marshall.

Ladymon is affiliated with Louisiana Bank and Trust Company and is a member of the United Methodist Church and Rotary International.

In 1982-1983, Ladymon was the first president of the Louisiana State University in Shreveport Foundation.

A Democrat, Ladymon is a long-term donor to former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.