John Lee III

JOHN LEE III

Cedar Rapids

John Edward Lee III, of 715 Dorchester Place NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died at St. Luke's Hospital on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, after an extended illness. Visitation will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. The Rev. Perry Fruhling will officiate.

John is survived by his wife, Dotty; his five children, Stephanie Lee of Fairfax, Va., Christina Sobus (Mark) of Houston, Texas, Shaun Kilduff (Kelley) and Kevin Kilduff (Donna), both of Baltimore, Md., and Shannon Kehoe (Terry) of Cedar Rapids. John was also blessed by 12 grandchildren.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Vernon.

John was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Jan. 28, 1939, to John Lee Jr. and Edna Lee. John grew up with his brother, Vernon; sister, Linda; and his paternal grandmother, Lucia (Lucy). They lived in Petrolia, Pa., where John's father owned and operated a pharmacy.

John matriculated at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and graduated from Slippery Rock College in 1962. After a short teaching career, John entered the United States Air Force in April 1963 and was com-missioned a second lieutenant on June 25, 1963. While serving on active duty as a reserve officer, John was stationed for three years at a Canadian Air Force Wing in Zweibrucken, Germany. Returning to the States, John was attached to the United States Tactical Air Command, Homestead, AFB, Fla. He had several temporary stateside tours of duty and a six month deployment to Kunson AFB, Korea. John was then directed to Phu Kat AFB, Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service during wartime hostilities. John's final station was at Eglin AFB, Fla. John rose to the rank of captain and was discharged as a reserve officer on Feb. 19, 1982.

John entered civilian employment in 1975 where he was employed by Environmental Elements Corporation, Baltimore, as a safety and security manager. John, with his wife, Dotty, and daughter, Shannon, then moved to Cedar Rapids, where John was employed with National Oats Company and Ralston Purina as safety, health and worker's compensation manager. John was subsequently employed by Evergreen Packaging Equipment and retired from PMX Industries.

John's family would like to send a special thank you to all of the staff at St. Luke's Hospital and Hospice for their care and compassion during his illness.