Alvin Francis Lindsay Jr.

1920 - 2017

LINDSAY JR., ALVIN FRANCIS WWII hero, fragrance industry leader, devoted husband and father, Alvin Francis Lindsay, Jr., known as "Bud," joined Helen his beloved wife of 57 years, peacefully passing away on September 26, 2017, at home on La Gorce Island, Miami Beach, Florida, with loved ones by his side. Bud Lindsay was best known as the CEO who grew a small 200-year old French company, Roure Bertrand Dupont, into one of the world's leading fragrance houses. Under his leadership, Roure created and sold the fragrance for ground-braking luxury brands, including Oscar de la Renta perfume, Opium by Yves St. Laurent and L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci. Bud was born on September 4, 1920, in the quintessential American town of Sikeston, Missouri. There and in neighboring Cape Girardeau, surrounded by some of the nation's finest farmland, Bud and his sister Mar Nell were raised in a loving home. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Missouri, where he was captain of the school's golf team, before attending the U.S. Naval Officers Candidate School at Columbia University in New York and then fighting in the South Pacific. As a first lieutenant, Bud was second in command of LST 276, a landing ship for tanks. After confronting enemy shelling to save an important U.S. asset off the Palau archipelago, he was recommended for a Bronze Star, but the war ended before it could be awarded. Fifty-two years later, on July 27, 1998, General Charles Wilhelm of Southern Command pinned the Bronze Star with the "V" device for valor on seventy-seven year old Lieutenant Lindsay's chest, and the overdue recognition was widely reported in South Florida and around the world. After the war, Bud had returned to New York City where he worked for eighteen years at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF). As a young salesman, Bud sold Est‚e and Joseph Lauder the fragrance for their new "Youth Dew" beauty cream, beginning his legendary career in the industry. Having risen to Senior Vice President at IFF, Bud then became President and CEO of Roure. His fifteen-year career there marked a golden age for Roure and the industry. In the 1950's Bud met and married Helen Kiendl Webster, of Bronxville, N.Y. Together they shared a love like no other, living in Manhattan, traveling the world, enjoying golf (he more than she) at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club, and raising six children. Upon retiring in 1985, Bud and Helen moved to La Gorce Island, Miami Beach, where they spent an enviable thirty-two years in the sun. In retirement, Bud served on the board of directors of Cedars Medical Center, and was President of both the La Gorce Island Association and the Indian Creek Country Club. In 1992 he was inducted into the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame. He is survived by his daughters Paula Anne Lindsay Gillies and Elizabeth Lindsay Kuhnke, his son Alvin F. Lindsay III, his two step-daughters Diana Webster-Biehl and Wendy Webster Keleher, his sister Margaret Nell Bell (who recently celebrated her 99th birthday), as well as thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his step-son Geoffrey R. Webster. The family will host a celebration of Bud's and Helen's lives in November.