LuEsther Mertz

Who was LuEsther Mertz?

LuEsther Turner Mertz, a businesswoman and philanthropist, was the youngest child of a Methodist minister and his wife. She trained as a librarian at Syracuse University.

In 1953, LuEsther and her husband, Harold Mertz, along with their daughter, Joyce, founded Publishers Clearing House. Over the years, Publishers Clearing House grew from an initial mailing of 10,000 letters to a marketing legend. Mrs. Mertz was active in the company's management, serving as a member of its Executive Committee until her death in 1991.

In 1962 she founded Choice Magazine Listening, an audio anthology of magazine writing for the visually impaired. She went on to become a major supporter of Lincoln Center, Central Park Conservancy, New York City Ballet, New York Shakespeare Festival, Joyce Theater Foundation, New York Botanical Garden, the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, Joseph Papp's Public Theater, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

In her own town she served as a Trustee of the Port Washington Public Library and was a founding member of the Port Washington League of Women Voters.