Former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, the red-vested former chancellor of UW-Stevens Point who waged an outsider campaign for governor as a Republican in 1978 and won, has died. He was 81.
Dreyfus, who had been ill for some time, died Wednesday evening from “respiratory failure relative to a heart issue” at his home in Waukesha, his son Lee Dreyfus Jr. said this morning.
….Born in Milwaukee, Dreyfus served in World War II in the U.S. Navy and then received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He taught in the communications department at UW-Madison and then became the chancellor of UW-Stevens Point in 1972. He held that post until he was elected governor.