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, Tuffs University, Colburn School, and the Mariinsky Foundation of America.
In 2007, Ft. Lauderdale’s Holy Cross Hospital “announced receipt of a $20 million charitable giff 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 past several years particularly enjoyed spending time near Caldas, the coffee-growing region of Colombia.
A celebration of life will take place at Domaine de la Paix et de l’Amour, Dr. Pearce’s beloved park, with details forthcoming.