John James Lee, Jr

John James Lee Jr., passed away December 31, 2014 in Canoga Park, California. He was born May 28, 1924 in Newark, New Jersey to John James and Sara Hikel Lee. At the age of 11, the family moved to the small town of Plymouth, New Hampshire. He and his 3 brothers, Francis, Robert and Walter, enjoyed spending time in the mountains fishing with their father. At the age of 17 he graduated from Plymouth High School.

Shortly after high school, he attended the National Youth Association Radio School. He graduated after 6 months and received the Federal Communications Commission license. He got a job with Pan American Airlines on a sea plane as a flight radio operator. His job as a radio navigator helped guide the plane to its destinations. His usual route was from La Guardia Airport in New York across the Atlantic to the Azores off the coast of Portugal.

After this first job with Pan Am, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines in 1942. He worked as a ham radio operator on the American Tanker, SS Fort Lee. On November 2, 1944, as the Fort Lee was in route from Adadan, Iran to Brisbane, Asutralia, loaded with diesel fuel, a German submarine U-181 torpedoed the tanker twice and sunk it in the Indian Ocean. John was in lifeboat #2 along with 10 other shipmates, with limited food and barely enough water to survive. They were rescued 5 days later by a British freighter.

After WWII, John rejoined Pan Am as a flight radio operator from 1946 to 1949, but due to technical advances in aero-nautical navigation, he found himself out of a job. He knew he had to start over and retrain into a career that would last, so John enrolled at UCLA and obtained a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. Additional study helped him complete a Masters in business and management.

While attending UCLA, he was invited to attend a New Year’s Eve party in 1950 at his brother, Franny’s house in Colton, CA, where he met Helen Edwards. They "tied the knot" on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1950 and proceeded to have three beautiful children, Jimmy, Amy and Dawn. John was able to scrape up enough money to buy a house in Canoga Park, CA, where all the kids were raised. Some of the family’s greatest memories were during their camping adventures every year. One particular trip that stood out was the King’s Canyon Camp Out where danger enveloped the family on a single lane highway of the mountain in the dark with steep drops at every hairpin turn.

John was known to be quite frugal and through his diligence was able to become an excellent investor and a wonderful provider to his family. John had a wonderful life and we will all miss him and honor his military service and shining example.

A family gathering took place on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 in South Gate, California. John’s final resting place is in the Sterling Utah Cemetery, next to his beloved wife, Helen, who preceded him in death February 2 ^nd , 2013.