George Ludlow Lee Sr. (March 25, 1901 - August 8, 1966) was

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Red Devil, Inc. Red Devil is a manufacturer of caulking, glazing (window), glazing, sealants and related surface preparation tools for glaziers, painters and masons. They are a privately owned family business with manufacturing facilities in Pryor, Oklahoma. The co ...

Biography

He was born on March 25, 1901. He married Dulcinea Harrison Smith. He had four children, George Ludlow Lee Jr., John Landon Lee, Dulcinea Harrison Lee, and Robert Todd Lee. He became chairman of the board of Red Devil and his son, George Ludlow Lee Jr. took over as president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. He died on August 9, 1966.

George Ludlow Lee Sr. in Bernards Township, New Jersey

Mr. Lee was owner/treasurer of the Red Devil Tool Company of

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate ...

from 1937 to 1950. He later became chairman of the board, renamed the company Red Devil, Inc.. The company is now based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is currently run by grandson CEO William (Bill) S. Lee. He is the 4th generation to lead the company. George was also an avid philatelist. Mr. George L. Lee, Sr., his wife Dulciena Harrison Smith Lee, and his children George L. Lee, Jr., John Landon Lee, Dulcinea Harrison Lee, and Robert Todd Lee were from

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

. The family moved into the Cedar Hill Farm estate in Basking Ridge, NJ on the week of June 4, 1940. Mr. Lee served on the Bernards Township Planning Board and was its Vice Chairman in 1944. He and his wife, Dulcinea Harrison Smith Lee, continued operation of the flourishing fruit farm, where local markets and roadside stands were supplied with the produce. The Lee's felt that the taxes in Bernards Township were becoming outrageous, so in 1946, the Lee's moved to a bigger home called ''Dunleigh'' on the Bernardsville Mountain. The home was on Mine Mount Rd. and owned by William Stamps. The Lee's then sold Cedar Hill to the Bissell's in 1946. Lee had held on to many parcels of land around the Cedar Hill Farm. He chose to break up the land into various sections. In the mid-50s, Lee donated 60 acres of land to Bernards Township Board of Education to build both Cedar Hill School (Opened Oct. 27,1957) and Ridge High School with their associated athletic fields. He also donated the property to the Township where the War Memorial Park stands today.

Ridge High School and the Red Devils

Locals know the name Lee as the

Ridge High School Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the ...

field was named after him as well as the high school mascot, the “Red Devil”. While the Red Devils are named after George Lee's company, the color is green because rival Bernardsville had red uniforms, so they chose green. The Red Devil Company was originally founded as Smith & Hemenway Company, Inc. While the founder, George Lee Sr.'s father-in-law Landon P. Smith, was on a trip to Sweden he heard a blacksmith remark “those little red devils” after sparks from a forge singed his arm. The name stuck in Smith's mind and upon his return to the States he began to label many of the tools he sold with the RED DEVIL® trade name.

Additional Information

The history of the Astor Estate in Basking Ridge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, George Ludlow Sr. 1901 births 1966 deaths People from Bernards Township, New Jersey People from Maplewood, New Jersey Red Devil, Inc.