Richard Lee Death, Obituary – Richard While on vacation in Belize in 2022, Robert Lee passed quite suddenly from complications related to an undiscovered lung disease that he had been suffering from for some time. He was 77. On June 19, 1945, Richard Lee was born in Seattle, Washington to parents named Robert and Lucile Lee. He received his diploma from Shoreline High School in the city of Seattle. Beginning in 1967 and continuing until his retirement in 2015, Richard was employed at Western Equipment Distributors. It was in June of 1967 when he first met his future wife, Linda (her maiden name was Zarada), and on November 10 of that same year, they got married. Kevin was Richard and Linda’s first child, and he was born in 1971.
Two more children, Sam in 1974 and Jamie in 1977, followed in quick succession after Kevin. Between the years 1964 and 1969, Richard was a member of the United States Navy. During the time that he was stationed in Hawaii, he participated in a top-secret project that was focused on developing new mapping technologies for Vietnam. Richard was a huge fan of all kinds of water sports. Between the years 1972 and 1983, he competed in the OPC tunnel boat, class SE, and mod 100 racing series. The race weekends turned into opportunities for family bonding and camping getaways. In 1989, he and Linda made the decision to acquire a vacation home in Sunland, Washington, on the Columbia River.
There, he and his friends and family could frequently be seen waterskiing up and down the river in the early morning hours. After he retired, he and Linda enjoyed spending even more time in Sunland with their friends and family, where they could unwind and have fun. Richard also had a deep love for snow skiing, and after he retired, he made the most of his time on the slopes by going skiing at The Summit, Crystal Mountain, and Mission Ridge. Both Richard and Linda enjoyed seeing the world. They took a cruise in Alaska, as well as in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. They vacationed in resorts in the Riviera Maya, Cancun, and Ixtapa as well as in Costa Rica and Jamaica.
Additionally, they took their RV on shorter trips closer to home. As soon as they reached the age where they could both retire, they began going on annual RV travels to Arizona whenever the climate in Washington became chilly. They played golf whenever the weather was nice enough, which was rather frequently. Richard was a devoted and caring family man who cherished his roles as a spouse, father, and grandfather. When he had things to work on, both at home and at his shop, he was in his most content state. His family knew they could count on him to assist with everything that needed to be done around the house, including repairing fences, painting, gardening, and even building.
His family and friends, all of whom cherished and cared for him sincerely, will miss him tremendously. Richard is survived by his wife Linda, his son and daughter-in-law Kevin Lee and Stephanie Jones-Lee, his son and daughter-in-law Sam and Kristi Lee and their children Nadège and Rémi, his daughter and son-in-law Jamie and Jason Haws and their children Alison, Daelyn, Joseph, Owen, and Matthijs, as well as his brother and sister-in-law Jim and Kathy Lee and their children Aaron and Bryan, as well as his brother and sister- His parents, Robert and Lucile Lee, passed away before he did, and he is the sole survivor of his family.
On December 7, a memorial service for immediate family members will be place at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. At a later time, which has not yet been decided, there will be a memorial service as well as a reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the memorial page created in Richard’s honour at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/PFFTribute/RichardLee1).