Former NASA scientist and Washington-area arts patron Gilbert Mead died on Tuesday of complications from a stroke. He was 76.
An heir to the Consolidated Papers fortune and an amateur pianist, Mead and his wife, Jaylee, founded the Mead Family Foundation in 1989.
The couple gave millions of dollars to area arts organizations. Most recently, the Meads gave $35 million to the Arena Stage for its construction of the Mead Center for American Theater.
