In Memoriam: Lee Pellegrini

Our dear friend and colleague Lee Pellegrini passed away in August at the age of seventy-five. Though you may not recognize Lee’s name, you are likely quite familiar with his lovely photography, which helped to elevate this magazine for decades. Like the man himself, his pictures exuded nuance, wit, and above all, warmth.

As director of photography in the Office of University Communications, which we call OUC, Lee worked right up until the time of his passing. I came to know him during creative meetings to discuss magazine photo shoots. Over time, we struck up a friendship. During office gatherings we’d inevitably wind up chatting about summer vacation plans, or the delights of homemade shrimp cocktail, or the bewildering strangeness of high school reunions. He’d tell me about his beloved wife, our fellow OUC colleague Rosanne Lafiosca Pellegrini, and he’d inquire about my kids, my work, my hobbies, always asking the kinds of perceptive questions that let you know he was really listening. Occasionally, he’d offer a spot of advice. It’s a special thing to make a friend, and Lee had a way of making me feel special, too.

After Lee died, OUC published an article sharing the sad news with the rest of the University, and the office held a small ceremony to toast his memory. In reading that article and listening to the recollections of my coworkers, I was amazed to discover that there was nothing special at all about my friendship with Lee. It turned out that he was quietly making everyone else in the office feel just as I did: listened to, cared for, important. At the ceremony, person after person described how Lee would pull them aside to ask about their children, their hopes, their worries. He truly listened to them, too, and from time to time he’d offer a word of advice. Someone recalled how a coworker corrected them when they pointed out that Lee never had children. “No,” the coworker said, “we were his children.”

This magazine will miss Lee Pellegrini’s wonderful photography, a few examples of which are presented below, but not nearly as much as his many friends and colleagues will miss his counsel, his kindness, and his generosity of spirit. ◽