Lee G. Mestres Sr. ’57

Lee died May 13, 2010.  

He was born in Stonington, Conn., and came to Princeton from Lawrenceville, which he said, taught him how to “swim,” while college was “a springboard” to a bigger pool.

At Princeton he majored in art and archaeology and joined Cottage Club. His senior roommates were Joe Toot, Rick Bellows, and Peter Williamson. As an undergrad he enjoyed crew, hockey, touch football, and baseball. He credited Princeton as one of the great forces in his life and returned often.

After graduation, Lee served in the Navy and the CIA. His specialties were political affairs and Soviet expansionism. He married and had two sons, Lee and Timothy.  

In 1973, Lee left the CIA, remarried, and moved to California. He fathered two daughters, Michelle and Nicole, with his wife, Juana, and entered the art world as a gallery owner and manager of an arts council in Tahoe.

The class sends condolences to his children.