Leo Albert Drey Jr. (, January 19, 1917 – May 26, 2015), was an American

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

magnate, conservationist, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Biography

Born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, to a wealthy manufacturer of

glassware upTypical drinkware The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glass ...

, Drey was a 1935 graduate of

John Burroughs School John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri (US), a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. natur ...

and a 1939 graduate of

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

. In 1937, he was 20 and traveling with six other students in Shanghai when war broke out between China and Japan. Drey began acquiring timberland in the Missouri

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

for reforestation and conservation in 1951. His holdings, much acquired for the price of back taxes, eventually grew to nearly , the largest private landholding in the state and larger than Missouri's entire state park system. The project, known as

Pioneer Forest Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

, is a commercial forest managed in the public interest, with single-tree selection harvesting techniques, which he pioneered. Drey purchased the Greer Mill property in 1987, and later sold it to the Forest Service for incorporation into the Eleven Point District of the

Mark Twain National Forest Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. United States National Forest, National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The MTNF cover ...

. (includes 4 photographs from 2004) Drey founded the L-A-D Foundation, which acquires and protects other natural areas in the state, leasing many of them to the state park system at $1 per year. In 2005 Drey was placed at No. 6 on ''Slate'' magazine's annual list of the top 60 U.S. philanthropists, thanks to his gift of of Ozark land, valued at $180 million, to the L-A-D Foundation. Other Drey beneficiaries have included his alma mater Antioch College; John Burroughs School, which uses Drey land for biology and outdoor education courses; the

Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower protection and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded in 1977. Activities In 1992, GAP represented Aldric Saucier, who had lost his job and security c ...

; and Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Missouri's first independent citizens' group to address a broad range of environmental issues. In 1991, he donated his papers to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Established in 1963, it is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System and its newest. Located on the former grounds of Bel ...

. His downtown office answering machine message said, "I’m out planting a forest. Please leave your name and number and I’ll try to get back to you before it matures." In 1955, Drey married Kay Kranzberg, who became, like himself, an environmental and civic advocate for more than half a century. Together, they raised three children, two daughters, Laura and Eleanor, and a son, Leonard. Drey died at his home in

University City, Missouri University City (colloquially, U. City) is an inner-ring suburb of the city of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was measured at 35,065 by the 2020 United States Census, 2020 c ...

at age 98 on May 26, 2015, two weeks after suffering a stroke. His body was donated to the

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...

for science.

References

External links

"Building Natural Wealth"
in the ''Missouri Conservationist''
The L-A-D Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drey, Leo Antioch College alumni American conservationists 1917 births 2015 deaths Businesspeople in timber Businesspeople from St. Louis Activists from St. Louis 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists