Lee Permut

1923 - 2017

January 3, 1923 - October 30, 2017 Lee Permut, born in the Bronx, New York, on January 3, 1923, passed away at the age of 94 on October 30, 2017. He was laid to rest on November 2, 2017 at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles, joining his beloved eldest son, Arthur, who predeceased him in 1976. Lee is survived by his wife of 67 years, Pearl, son David, daughter Paula (Steven Mines) and his granddaughters Ashley (Brad Moore) and Rebecca (Lee Nunley). Born in the Bronx to first-generation parents, his New York toughness and street smarts gave him the drive to succeed. He pursued a career in aviation and joined the Department of the Navy, enlisting at the age of 19. After the war, Lee formed Aerotest Laboratories, a diagnostic and component-testing company that had government contracts including the first manned space mission, Mercury Redstone 3, with Alan Shepard. With that success, the company became the second largest military environmental testing company in the United States and was actively involved with subsequent space launches with JFK's Race To Space program. The company was later acquired by Ogden Corp. in the 1960s and Lee became the Executive Vice President. As Ogden expanded, Lee moved his family from New York to Los Angeles in 1966, where the family maintained homes in Holmby Hills and Palm Springs. He retired from Ogden in 1980 and began the next phase of his career as an entrepreneur. He financed and marketed multiple companies including the National Payphone Co. with Harold Berger, as well as Hotel Brokers USA with Lance Garver. In addition to his lifelong passion of tennis, Lee pursued the fine art of marble sculpture and spent much of his time in Positano, Italy. His artwork has been exhibited in numerous galleries and is currently exhibited at Classic Artforms Gallery in Los Angeles. Later in life, he volunteered at the Palm Springs Aeronautics Museum so he could impart his love of space on to future generations. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles at www.alzgla.org or call Jennifer Holloway at 323.930.6246.