History

- Dr. M. Lee Pearce -

M. Lee Pearce (Dec 22, 1930 - Oct 12, 2017) was born in Philadelphia on December 22, 1930. He received his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in 1955, and immediately following graduation, moved to Miami. After practicing medicine for several years, he attended and graduated from the University of Miami’s School of Law.

Dr. Pearce was well-known for his financial and business acumen as well as for his diverse interests. Over the years, he built and owned hospitals and medical facilities as well as banks and real estate. He was perhaps best known for his well-publicized and successful Southeast Bank proxy battle against corporate measures designed to protect incumbent management at the expense of shareholders.

The Wall Street Journal once described Dr. Pearce as “a tough and savvy investor” and as a “reserved figure who looks as if he were born in a gray three-piece suit.” That quip captured Dr. Pearce’s strong adherence to tradition and to the values he learned from his father, which he described as “Pop’s rules.”

Dr. Pearce’s directorships, trusteeships and consultancies were numerous as were his roles as president or chairman of various corporations, associations, and societies with which he was involved. A few examples are: American Hospital Management Corp., American Medical International, Inc., American Hospital of Miami, Inc., AmeriFirst Bank of Miami, General Health, LP, and North Ridge General Hospital, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale. In 1990, he became the founder and owner of Bank of North America in Fort Lauderdale.

He served as a consultant to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research and to Mayo Clinic Ventures in Rochester, Minnesota; as a member of the Board of Fellows of the Harvard Medical School; as emeritus member of the board of trustees for the University of Miami; and as an honorary director for the Mariinsky Foundation of America and The Metropolitan Opera.

In 1984, he established The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. which has contributed to many organizations including The Metropolitan Opera, University of Miami, the Mayo Clinic, Tufts University, Colburn School, and the Mariinsky Foundation of America.

In 2007, Ft. Lauderdale’s Holy Cross Hospital “announced receipt of a $20 million charitable gift from visionary philanthropist and medical pioneer M. Lee Pearce, M.D., J.D., to assist Holy Cross in the establishment of a comprehensive off-campus ambulatory/outpatient services center close to the hospital.”

Dr. Pearce also endowed a chair in Middle East Studies at the University of Miami and supported the University’s School of Music with endowments for the opera, orchestra, and string programs.

He attended musical performances annually around the world including in New York, Bayreuth, Germany and Salzburg, Austria, but he particularly cherished his time traveling across Russia on the train with Maestro Valery Gergiev and his orchestra during the annual Moscow Easter Festival.

Dr. Pearce owned homes in Miami Beach, New York, and Cashiers, North Carolina, but during the last several years of his life, he particularly enjoyed spending time near Caldas, the coffee-growing region of Colombia.

- The Foundation -

The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation is a private grant-making Foundation established in 1984 by philanthropist, entrepreneur and business executive, M. Lee Pearce M.D., J.D.. For over 30 years, Dr. Pearce personally managed his Foundation – making donations to over 52 different organizations around the world. With his passing, Dr. Pearce left the bulk of his assets from his very successful businesses to his Foundation, and the management transitioned to the current Board of Directors, most of whom were personally selected by Dr. Pearce.

In honor of Dr. Pearce’s life-long interest in medicine and passion for classical music and grand opera, his philanthropic legacy continues with the Foundation focusing on…

Providing support for medical breakthroughs and accomplishments that improve the quality of human life as opposed to mere increases in longevity; and providing support for translational therapeutic work in improving medical care with an emphasis on short- and long-term memory loss.

And, providing encouragement and support for the performance and understanding of classical music, romantic music and 19th and early 20th century Russian music and providing encouragement and support for the understanding of grand opera.

The Foundation has continued to work closely with Harvard University, The Mayo Clinic, The Metropolitan Opera, University of Miami, Washington National Opera and other organizations that Dr. Pearce supported throughout his life. Click HERE to see a summary of our recent grants.