Frederick G. Lee's Obituary
Frederick G. LEE was born in London, England, August 26, 1930, son of Frederick J. Lee and Kathleen G. Morton-Day. In 1940, he witnessed the Dunkirk Operation Dynamo from the beaches of South England. He was then evacuated with close to two million other children, gas masks around their necks, to be protected from the WWII bombing. After his father’s demise, his family moved to a 300-acre farm in North Wales.
After serving in the British Queen’s Royal Horse Guard, at Windsor Castle and in Malaysia (1953-1956), Frederick joined the US Air Force from 1957 till 1990. He served his newly adopted country with pride, loyalty, and honor in England, Germany, Vietnam, Italy, several US States, and Belgium, where he met Bernadette, his Belgian neighbor; they were married in 1984. His last assignment was at Edwards AF Base (Mojave Desert) at the 6510 Flight TEST Centre, under the leadership of Astronaut & Commander, Col. Roy Bridges. Then in 1990, Frederick & Bernadette retired to Citrus County, Florida, where he became volunteer fire fighter. In 1998, they moved to Gainesville to enable Bernadette to work at the University of Florida.
He loved his Friends & families, traveling, space research, sports cars, opera, nature, warm weather & blue skies! Above all, he was a perfect gentleman: generous, even-tempered, non-judgmental, with an extraordinary “British” sense of humor and an unswerving sense of ethics. He is survived by his wife, Bernadette Cesar-Lee, his sister Dorothy Maud, his brothers-in-law, nieces & nephews in England, as well as his in-laws in Belgium and Portugal. He was predeceased by his younger sister, Elizabeth Rice."
A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel of Williams-Thomas Funeral Home Westarea, 823 NW 143rd Street, Newberry. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Haven Hospice, 4200 NW 90th Blvd. Gainesville, FL 32606.
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