- Contributed By John Carlson -
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| Harry Lee, Resident |
It was an unexpected pleasure to join Harry Lee for dinner recently. During our short time together, he repeated several times, “What a good life I’ve had—been greatly blessed.” Harry is 98. He told us some of his life history as follows:
At 19, he worked his way around the world aboard ships as an ordinary seaman. Returning to Northern California, his goal was to go to Stanford.
After graduating in 1931, he joined the famous J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency. WWII interrupted his career. He enlisted in the Navy Air Corps in 1941. He was trained as a Navigator for PBY sea-planes, performing water landings to
drop off and retrieve personnel, supplies and mail on the South Pacific islands.
After WWII, he decided that if he went back to JWT, he would always be working for someone else. Recognizing the need for professional advertising in the Far East, he set up his own advertising agency offices in Tokyo and the Philippines. He earned a special contract to handle all of the advertising for Proctor & Gamble in the Far East and spent ten years in Manila and Tokyo.
At age 60, with his wife’s permission, he and son Doug flew to London. There, he bought two Triumph 650 motorcycles. Although he had never previously owned or ridden a motorcycle, they toured throughout Europe totaling more than 4,100 miles.
He had a wonderful marriage of 74 years. He met his wife on a blind date, married and never forgot that he’d married an angel.
Harry enjoys morning walks around the campus, especially the golf links. As we left the Monterey Dining room, he took the stairs. No elevator for him—not Harry!
P.S. He misses home-cooked meals and is interested in any woman aged 65-95 who can cook