William Lee Pryor III

William Lee Pryor III, entrepreneur, sailor, and storyteller, who, at 94, seemed indestructible to his friends and family, has shocked and saddened them all by dying at his home in Bay St. Louis. Despite the fancy name, he was known as Lee, and the sort of guy who'd make a friend or three if you left him alone for five minutes. He had many of those in New Orleans, where he met his wife, Julie Smith, some thirty years ago, as well as in Bay St. Louis, where he and Julie moved in 2019. He had lots of family too-seven children, whose mother was Lee's first wife, the late Dorothy Bennigsen; twenty-four grandchildren; sixteen great grandchildren, and counting. Lee was born into a Navy family in New London, CT, where his father was a submarine captain. The Navy being what it is, Lee was a citizen of the world almost from birth, living as a child in multiple cities, ranging from several in Connecticut to Honolulu, HI, Washington, D.C., and Coronado, CA. He attended seven elementary schools and four high schools, ultimately graduating from Kent School in Kent, CT. In his typical fashion, Lee also attended no fewer than three distinguished colleges: the U.S. Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University, where he earned a B.A. in history, one of his many passions. His lifelong love of travel, exploration, and most of all, sailing and the sea began in earnest at age 17, when he crossed the Atlantic as crew on the Atlantis, a 140-foot sailing research vessel out of Woods Hole. His climbing and seafaring adventures earned him memberships in The Explorers Club and the New York Yacht Club.

Lee and his young family lived in Chicago for many years, with one memorable detour to Japan, where Lee served in the Army Counterintelligence Corps, enabling him in later years to impress his kids and Julie with his real-life spy status. During the period in Japan, he continued his adventures by hitching rides on military planes to other countries he wanted to visit. After that, he went to work for Sports Illustrated and then IBM, quickly noticing that the computer giant often couldn't meet its customers' demand for supplies. His new career as an entrepreneur-his true calling, it turned out-was born when he founded his own successful supply company, Pryor Corporation, to help ease the shortage. He later became what his family called an itinerant CEO, helping faltering companies get back on track. Those jobs took him to the Netherlands, New York, Seattle, San Francisco and even sometimes, New Orleans, his eventual home. During his semi-retirement, he wrote The Savvy Entrepreneur, a breezy anecdotal primer on entrepreneurship that employs another of his talents-storytelling, something he did frequently-to the delight of all present-and often late at night while sipping his signature drink, a Rusty Nail. He owned multiple sailboats, most notably his pride and joy, Malabar X, a 1930 wooden, John Alden-designed schooner that spent time in the Caribbean, Florida, Sag Harbor, Chicago and elsewhere. He absolutely loved sharing the sailing experience with friends and family and took hundreds of long and short voyages over 22 years on Malabar X until it was severely damaged by Hurricane Bob in 1994. Lee was the son of USN Captain William Lee Pryor Jr. and Mary Day Rouse. He is survived by his wife Julie, his brother Edward Bailey Pryor, and his 7 children: Bill Pryor, John Pryor, Kiley McGuire, Alex Klemmer, Liz Pryor, Tory Raith, and Jennifer Solberg. Plus their aforementioned copious progeny, all of whom he adored. Lee, Dad, "Pa-po" will be remembered lovingly by his wife and his extensive offspring for his optimism, his humor, his love of history, his adventurous spirit, his knowledge of the world and world affairs, his passion for the sea, and his deep enjoyment of a good story (never letting facts get in the way), told in the presence of friends and family. Rather than gifts to organizations, nothing would honor Lee's fruitful and prolific spirit more than adding new life to your own home or yard-a tree, perhaps, or a rosebush in his memory. Plans are pending for a celebration of Lee's extraordinary and joyful life.