Lorenzo Bates Lea

Lorenzo Bates Lea.  Born, April 12, 1925, St. Louis,
Mo., son of Lorenzo Bates Lea and Ursula Lea. Died July 8, 2019. Survived by wife Marcia, children Victoria Chaney (William), Jennifer and Christopher, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren, a sister Ursula Johnson, nephews and nieces.
BS, M.I.T., JD, Univ. of Michigan and AMP, Harvard. U.S. Navy 1943 to 1946.
When Bates finished law school, the typical first job of law students was with a law firm, but Bates had the opportunity of going directly to a large corporation. He became the first lawyer ever hired directly out of law school by Standard Oil Company (later renamed Amoco), starting in its Chicago headquarters and retiring as Vice President and General Counsel in 1989, after being in charge of worldwide legal and patent matters for 17 years.
When the Arab Embargo and energy crisis of the 70’s hit the country, he headed a group of general counsel of the 20 largest companies to deal with it and the increasingly complex regulations of all kinds affecting the industry.

Over the years he was an active member of the Chicago, Illinois and American Bar Associations, the Economic Club of Chicago, and boards of directors of the Legal Club of Chicago ( Chairman ), Law Club of Chicago, Chicago Crime Commission, United Charities of Chicago (Chairman), Association of General Counsel, Midwest Council for International Economic Policy (Vice Chairman), Legal Aid Bureau of Chicago (Chairman), Chicago Bar Foundation, Chicago Area Foundation for Legal Services and an arbitrator and board member of the American Arbitration Association, Community Foundation of Collier County and Naples Botanical Garden.
Advisory Visiting Committees for Michigan, Northwestern and University of Chicago Law Schools, and long involvement with Northwestern’s Corporate Counsel Institute.

At the same time Bates was enjoying the business and professional side of life, his family life was thriving. He had met Marcia who also had moved to Chicago, and they married in 1953. They moved to suburban Glenview in 1955 and loved being involved in raising and educating a young family, from local and school activities, to travel for a day or weeks visiting relatives, looking at colleges or just enjoying new experiences. This continued for decades, as jobs and 
marriages spread the family throughout the country. After Bates retired they divided their time between Glenview, IL, Naples, FL and a vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 
Member of Glen View Club, Golf IL and Naples Yacht Club and Hole in the Wall Golf Club, Naples.  Member since 1955 of Glenview Community Church, and in recent years, Naples United Church of Christ. 

A private funeral service is planned, with interment in Green Bay, WI.  Any memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.