Fred Osie Lee, age 63, passed away peacefully on August 21st after a long battle with dementia. Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, and friend will be greatly missed.
Fred was born on September 22, 1950 to Jack and Pricilla Lee in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Portage Northern and soon after joined the family business, Lee Sporting Goods. Over the years he also owned a jewelry store and his own fly-fishing guide business. Fred enjoyed life fully. He loved the outdoors and was an avid fly-fisherman. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge of fishing with his family, friends, many new to the sport, and anyone else who would listen. There are few places Fred would have rather been than on the river looking for his next catch with one of his own handcrafted flies.
He is survived by his wife Jan (Gallihugh) Lee, his children Rachel (John) Murphy, Jennifer (Mike) Nash, Patrick Lee, Erica (David) Hunt, Rebecca (Dan) Edds. He also adored his grandchildren Colgan, Aiden, Jude, Brendan, Kelcey, Alison, and Parker, and his golden retriever Mandy. He is also survived by his brothers Bernard Lee and Jim (LuAnne) Lee. His parents and his sister precede him in death.
In lieu of a formal ceremony, a celebratory reception in honor of Fred's life will take place at Martell's Restaurant (3501 Greenleaf Blvd in Kalamazoo) on Wednesday, August 27th. Please join the family in sharing memories of Fred anytime between 4 PM - 7PM.
Donations may be made in Fred's memory to the Center for Dementia Research at www.cdr.rfmh.org.