LuEsther Mertz

LuEsther Turner Mertz (December 30, 1905, Cincinnati, Ohio – February 5, 1991, Port Washington, New York) was a businesswoman and philanthropist. She was the youngest child of a Methodist minister and his wife and 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 believed that visually impaired people and those with disabilities that prevented them from reading standard print should have access to the same magazine writing as sighted people. She established the nonprofit Lucerna Fund to support the efforts of Choice Magazine Listening. 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.

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