Skip to main content

Lawrence Howard Lee papers

 Collection
Identifier: ACCN 2687

Scope and Contents

The Lawrence Howard Lee papers (1943-2002) detail his personal and professional life. The collection consists of correspondence, scrapbooks, memorabilia, awards, and certificates. There are also materials focusing on Lee's professional career with Western Airlines such as marketing materials, board of directors meeting minutes, employee benefits and salaries, and stockholder reports. The collection also contains collected articles and news clippings regarding Lee and Western Airlines.

Dates

  • 1943-2002

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Note

Lawrence H. Lee, known to friends as "Larry", was born February 8, 1927 in Santaquin, Utah. He attended Bryant Jr. High and graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. During World War II he joined the Navy and served in the Naval Air Transport Service.

Larry began his airline career in 1943 at the Salt Lake City Airport as a baggage loader for Western Airlines. During his career, he worked in many different field and administrative positions and was elected a corporate officer in 1967. In 1982, as Senior Vice President Transportation Services, he established Salt Lake City as Western's first major "hub" operation. In 1983, when Western Airlines was suffering financial difficulty, he accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. During the next few years, he designed and implemented a plan that resulted in a dramatic financial turnaround of the airline. Having proven the value of the Salt Lake City "hub" and establishing record profits, Western became an attractive merger entity and was sold to Delta Air Lines in 1986. Larry retired in 1986 as Chairman of the Board.

Larry received his MBA degree at California State University Domingues Hills and later served on the President's Advisory Board. He also served on the National Advisory Board of Utah State University and the Advisory Board of the School of Business at BYU. In addition to other State and National boards, he was involved in several business, civic and cultural organizations in Utah; among them were, Board of Directors, First Security Bank Corporation; Board of Trustees, Salt Lake Valley Hospitals and Urban Central Region of IHC; Board of Governors, Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce; Board of Directors, Utah Symphony; Salt Lake County Development and Promotion Board; Board of Directors, Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was a member of the Salt Lake Country Club and past member of the Salt Lake Rotary Club.

During his lifetime, he served in various service and leadership roles in the LDS Church, including a mission in London, England with his wife from 1986-87. He then presided over the England Leeds Mission.

He married Marjorie Anne Lewis in 1946.

Extent

15 Linear Feet (25 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Lawrence Howard Lee papers (1943-2002) detail his personal and professional life. The collection consists of correspondence, articles, financial materials, and professional materials regarding Western Airlines. Lee began his airline career in 1943 and worked in many different field and administrative positions within Western Airlines and established Salt Lake City as Western's first major "hub" operation. He became President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Airline in 1983.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into two series: I. Personal materials; II. Western Airlines materials.

Original folder titles have been maintained when available.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Lawrence H. Lee, Laura K. and Randolph L. Lee, Richard B. Lee and Stacy Shelley in 2012.

Separated Materials

Photographs and an audio cassette were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Betsey Welland in 2012.
Title
Inventory of the Lawrence Howard Lee papers
Author
Finding aid created by Betsey Welland.
Date
2012 (last modified: 2020)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863