In Remembrance
of Lee the Elder
C. Lee Ould, Jr.
October 2nd, 1946 –
September 18th, 1998
Dear Clients and Friends,
Regretfully, I must inform you that my father, Lee Ould
Jr. ("Lee2" or "Lee the Elder") passed away. It is a great loss to us,
the family, as well as friends.
Lee suffered from manic depressive disorder for the
last six years, and took his life on Friday, September 18th. It was a long
battle fought by our family, medication, doctors, and, most painfully, by Lee himself
– against a hereditary disease that had already claimed two members of his immediate
family.
For those who could not make it to his funeral, I have
attached my letter which was read during the service. Soon, I
will be placing the other family members' letters from his nephew Adam, his wife Anna, his 2- and
4-year-old niece and nephew (with a little help),
their mother Carol, his brother-in-law Dennis and his
sister-in-law Mary.
My father was a good model of integrity, with genuine
concern for those he worked with – often saying that we should always make sure that
our client’s in-house contact person is taken care of, since his job was his
"main bowl of rice".
One client aptly described him as a "true scholar
of engineering", pursuing knowledge and learning how things worked purely because he
enjoyed doing so. He never intended to impress someone down the road with what he had
gleaned – although that would often happen anyway – nor would he learn to simply
improve his resume or hone his job skills. He just had a desire to understand those things
around him, whether they be cars or lawnmower engines or our clients’
equipment.
Most striking to me from what was
shared at that time was his generosity to those around him – only some of which I had
known previously. For example, Lucy Wedemeyer shared that in buying a ventilator for her
husband Charlie, my father provided him "with the air he breathes". Those
wishing to give are advised to direct any gifts or donations to the Charlie Wedemeyer
Family Foundation -- since Charlie and my father were
friends, and my father helped him often.
At one point in 1995, I looked at my parents with their
newest car being a1984 and their house leaking from the rains, while at the same time
helping others achieve their dreams, such as helping a family member with a down payment
to buy a house. This example of modesty is a stark contrast to Silicon Valley around us,
where recently it seems that material gains and the mighty dollar are worshipped.
I would like to assure our clients that I am planning
to continue to operate Safety Engineering Laboratory with those principles adopted by my
father – honesty, integrity, and hard work. Although his loss last week was a
tremendous shock, for the last several months we have been restructuring at SEL – to
have me and others cover his workload – to accommodate his retirement, so he could
deservedly relax from the stresses of our business.
On a professional level, I was looking forward to
working with him for a long time to come; and on a more personal note, I will miss him
tremendously, as a father and a mentor.
I would like to thank all of you for your support
during this difficult time.
Lee III |
