Mimi Lee

Mathilde B. "Mimi" Lee (May 1, 1920 – August 9, 2011) was an American chemist, athlete and philanthropist who served as the First Lady of Maryland from 1977 to 1979 when her husband, then Lt. Governor Blair Lee III, became acting governor following the departure of Governor Marvin Mandel.

Biography

Early life Lee was born Mathilde Boal on May 1, 1920, in Washington, D.C.

Lee privately and publicly disliked much of the ceremonial roles of a traditional First Lady, like the ribbon cuttings, and the practice of politics, which she called "frivolous." Lee also competed in the U.S. Masters Swimming Nationals, winning eight swimming competitions throughout the United States, and placed second in twenty other races. She hiked the Pyrenees between France and Spain with two of her seventeen-year-old grandchildren when she was seventy years old.

Outside of swimming, Lee learned German during her 80s.

Mimi Lee died of congestive heart failure at Laurel Regional Hospital in Laurel, Maryland, on August 9, 2011, at the age of 91. She was survived by seven of her eight children – Blair Lee IV, Joseph W. Lee, Christopher G. Lee, Erica B. Lee, Philip L. Lee, John F. Lee and Jenny Sataloff; her sister, Mary Elizabeth d'Harcourt; nineteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Another son, Pierre B. Lee, died in 1973. Lee's funeral Mass was held at her parish, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, in Silver Spring.