Former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who served one term starting in 1979, died at his Waukesha home Wednesday night, his son said Thursday. He was 81.I'm sure the Waukesha Freeman, where Dreyfus was a columnist for many years, will have extensive coverage in the days to come. I've said it before that when the Waukesha Freeman put my column on Thursdays opposite Dreyfus I was thrilled because I knew people across Waukesha were turning to the Opinion Page to see what he wrote. While he and I were certainly from different wings of the party, you always had to respect what Dreyfus had to say on any given topic. Wisconsin has lost a great leader and a respected Statesman.
Dreyfus died while watching television, said his son, Lee Dreyfus Jr.
He was elected governor in 1978, upsetting U.S. Rep. Bob Kasten in the Republican primary and then defeating acting Gov. Martin Schreiber in the general election. He served in the post for four years.
Dreyfus also was a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and was chancellor at UW-Stevens Point before resigning to run for governor. He later was a member of the UW System Board of Regents and served briefly as an interim state superintendent of public instruction.
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