63 Years Married
3 Children
7 Grandchildren
70+ Countries Visited
15+ Media Mentions
Frederick Pendleton Lyte February 3, 1928 - October 5, 2016

Early Life

  • Born in Dallas, Texas
  • Later moved to San Marino, California
  • South Pasadena High School, Class of 1946

Education

  • Stanford University, BA in Social Science/Social Thought (1950)
  • Stanford University, MBA (1952)
  • Kappa Sigma fraternity member

Career - Disney Era

  • Vice President & General Manager, Retlaw Enterprises (Walt Disney family's personal holding company)
  • Managed 7,000-acre development in the Bahamas

Career - Consulting

  • Consultant, Stanford Research Institute
  • Consultant, Booz, Allen & Hamilton

Career - Lyte Enterprises

  • Chairman & President, Lyte Enterprises Inc. (1971-2016)
  • Economic development consulting and venture capital
  • Facilitated hundreds of millions in commercial real estate projects across Southern California
  • 140 S Lake Ave #301, Pasadena, CA

LA Raiders / Irwindale Deal (1987)

Orchestrated the $115 million deal attempting to bring the LA Raiders to Irwindale. The deal included a $10 million non-refundable signing bonus paid directly to Al Davis. The project ultimately failed due to environmental roadblocks, financing difficulties, and negotiations with LA County.

Community Service

  • USC Medical School Board of Councilors
  • Chairman, St. Luke Hospital Foundation Board

Personal Interests

  • Geography expert - visited 70+ countries
  • Trivial Pursuit champion
  • Jeopardy! champion
  • "Almost unbeatable at poker"

Media Mentions - Frederick Pendleton Lyte

Obituary
Stanford Magazine - Obituaries
March/April 2017
"Frederick Pendleton Lyte, '50 (social science/social thought), MBA '52, of Pasadena, Calif., October 5, at 88. A member of Kappa Sigma, he ran Lyte Enterprises and was vice president of Retlaw Enterprises, the personal holding company of the Walt Disney family... He was a geography expert (visiting more than 70 countries), a Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy champ and almost unbeatable at poker."
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Alumni Profile
South Pasadena High School Alumni Association
Class of 1946
Detailed alumni profile documenting Fred's life from birth in Dallas, Texas through his career at Retlaw Enterprises and Lyte Enterprises, including his role in the LA Raiders/Irwindale stadium deal.
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News
The Washington Post - "Irwindale Faces Legal Sandstorm"
November 3, 1987
Reports on Fred Lyte's role as city consultant in the Raiders stadium deal, noting he stood to gain $2 million in consulting fees.
"The reaction from the {politicians} was, 'How dare you take the Raiders?' and I said, 'Hey, we didn't even start dating the woman until she left home.' Now they descend upon us with all these grand juries, district attorneys, bills, lawsuits and it's certainly going to go on, and certainly we'll win it. We'll grind it out and whip 'em."
- Fred Lyte, 1987
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News
UPI Archives - "Irwindale: Little City That Lost Big"
March 12, 1990
"Frederick Lyte, the city's former redevelopment consultant and one of the prime players in the deal, was let go because the City Council had accrued more than $3 million in related bills."
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News
The Washington Post - "Raiders Might Call Irwindale Home in 1990"
August 5, 1987
Early coverage of the Raiders stadium deal, documenting how Lyte and city manager Charles Martin identified the opportunity when Al Davis expressed dissatisfaction with the LA Coliseum.
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Archive
Sports Illustrated - "The Talk of the Town"
September 14, 1987
Feature coverage of the Irwindale Raiders stadium proposal.
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Business
LinkedIn
Profile
Fred Lyte - Owner, Lyte Enterprises, Inc.
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Business Directory
ShowMeLocal / Central Index
Business Listing
Lyte Enterprises Inc - 140 S Lake Ave #301, Pasadena, CA 91101. Phone: (626) 793-7151. Category: Investments.
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Marjorie Swingley Lyte December 15, 1930 - October 4, 2014

Education

  • South Pasadena High School (classmate of Fred)
  • Stanford University, BA in Political Science (1952)
  • UCLA, MA in Folklore and Mythology

Performing Arts Commission

Leader on the LA County Performing Arts Commission for over 25 years. Contributed to the L.A. Holiday Celebration televised special (PBS, 2006) as additional crew.

Girls in Gangs

Founding Chairman of "Girls in Gangs," a program to help young women transition out of juvenile probation.

Do the Write Thing

Los Angeles Chair of "Do the Write Thing," a national program aimed at reducing youth violence through writing.

Family

William "Bill" Lyte Son (deceased)
Susan Lyte King Daughter, Stanford '77
D.D. Lyte Holcomb Daughter

Grandchildren: Brandon, Diana, Ryan, Alexander, Fred, Vicki, and Ingrid

Media Mentions - Marjorie Swingley Lyte

Obituary
Los Angeles Times via Legacy.com
October 2014
"Marjorie Swingley Lyte... loving wife and mother and charismatic community leader, who received her BA from Stanford and her MA from UCLA. She was a leader on the LA County Performing Arts Commission for over 25 years and was also the Founding Chairman of 'Girls in Gangs,' a program to help young women transition out of juvenile probation."
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Obituary
Stanford Magazine - Obituaries
March/April 2015
"Marjorie Louise Swingley Lyte, '52 (political science), of Pasadena, Calif., October 4, at 83. After Stanford she earned a master's degree in folklore and mythology from UCLA. A member of the L.A. County Performing Arts Commission for more than 25 years, she was also founding chair of Girls in Gangs, a program to help young women transition out of juvenile probation."
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Film/TV
IMDb - Marjorie S. Lyte
2006
Additional crew credit for L.A. Holiday Celebration (2006), the annual PBS televised holiday special.
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Memorial

Celebration of Life held November 29, 2014 at 2:00 PM at the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena, California.

Donations in her honor were requested to: PathwaytoPrevention.org, The Stanford Fund, or similar organizations.

Research Notes & Additional Sources