Lehr vouchers return for Hixson-Lied College students

Lewis Lehr.
Lewis Lehr.

Students taking classes in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts will get the opportunity to see more Lied Center for Performing Arts performances thanks to a gift received last fall from the estate of Lewis Lehr. A major gift was made to the University of Nebraska Foundation from General Mills, Inc., under their Planned Gift Program for Directors of General Mills in memory of Lehr, a former General Mills director, who passed away in July 2016, to support the Doris Lehr Lied Endowment Fund for Students.

The Doris Lehr Lied Endowment Fund for Students was established by Lewis Lehr, of Scottsdale, Arizona, to provide free tickets annually for students to attend Lied Center for Performing Arts performances.

“Mr. Lehr’s gift to fund the Doris Lehr Lied Endowment Fund for Students is an excellent example of the benefit of a planned gift in your estate planning,” said University of Nebraska Foundation Development Officer Connie Pejsar. “This fund leaves a lasting legacy for the Lehr Family to honor Doris and her love of music while supporting students by providing tickets to Lied Center performances for years to come.”

The exact number of tickets to be provided to each student annually following this most recent gift is still to be determined, but students receive vouchers each semester to redeem for a Lied Center ticket to an event of their choice until the annual fund limit is reached. Students first started receiving the vouchers in 1996.

“The Lehr vouchers are a tremendous opportunity for our students to see the world-class artists that come to the Lied Center for Performing Arts each season,” said Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Endowed Dean Chuck O’Connor. “Receiving a free voucher enables students to experience top artists they might not otherwise be able to afford to see.”

In a 1999 story in the Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Newsletter, Lehr said his wife, Doris (Stauder) Lehr, who attended the School of Music at Nebraska, provided the inspiration for this gift.

“She had to work and didn’t always get to attend the events going on,” Lehr said then. “So we thought it would be helpful for these students to see the kind of shows the Lied Center has. We established this in recognition of her and to help these kids.”

Lewis Lehr died on July 30, 2016, at the age of 95. He was born in Elgin, Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering. He also served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army oversees as an engineer during World War II.

He married Doris in 1944. At age 26, Lehr landed a position working in 3M’s tape division testing adhesives, and 36 years later, he became 3M’s chairman and chief executive officer. He held that position from 1980-1986. At the time he led 3M, it had $7.7 billion in revenue and 86,000 employees.

Lehr also served on the board of multiple companies, including Shell Oil, General Mills and the University of Minnesota Medical School Foundation, to name a few.

Doris Lehr died on May 14, 2004, at the age of 81. She was born in Los Angeles, California, but spent her early and teenage years in McCook, Nebraska. She began her music life of piano, organ and singing, later directing a church choir. She majored in music at the University of Nebraska and was a member of Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Alpha Iota.

While Lehr served overseas, Doris moved back to McCook, where she worked in the law offices of Frank Morrison, who later became the governor of Nebraska. After World War II, the couple moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she worked in the legal department of 3M, but became a full-time mother and housewife when they started a family.

She was also associated with the St. Paul Civic Opera and Minneapolis Institute of Arts.