Lee Willet Umstead

The past few years have been difficult for Lee. He’s endured various health issues that made it difficult or impossible for him to enjoy many of his lifelong activities. Today we will not dwell on the losses but on the positives of Lee’s life.

Lee is somewhat of a rarity being born and reared in Florida. He grew up in the small town of Lake City with his parents, two brothers and sister. When he was small, the family had a goat. For some reason that goat didn’t like Lee and would run up behind him and butt him. Bert recalls seeing Lee fly through the air. It was a comical sight. As a boy, he was full of mischief. He was known to pull lots of pranks and I bet the neighborhood would keep an eye out for the Umstead boys. On Saturdays growing up, his father had a ritual with his children. He would make them all coffee, mostly milk with coffee for coloring and Bert got to make the cheese toast, then they would all pile into their parents bed for breakfast. Lee was extremely close to his mother and as a teenager and wanted to do something special for her. Since she worked full-time, when she’d come home in the afternoon, Lee would have her sit on the couch, then he would go make a cup of coffee for her. This was their ritual and time together. As the children grew up, married and had families of their own, everyone would gather at the family home for Sunday suppers. The evenings were full of great food, laughter, teasing and conversation.

Lee remained devoted to his mother all of his life. He would regularly drive over to visit her in Lake City. He talked with her daily and after her stroke, he’d ride his motorcycle weekly to visit with his mother. He would mow the grass and took care of any other chores that needed to be done. His mother’s death was a blow to Lee.

In High School, Lee played both basketball and baseball though he confided in Ryan that he mostly warmed the bench. He was a child of the sixties and loved rock and roll. He could easily give you title and artist of most any song. You would definitely want him on your trivia team! He was an original gamer. Not the type teenagers are today. He loved to play cards, board games, corn hole and croquet. These interests followed him throughout his life. As a young couple, Bobbie and Lee would play cards with other couples every other week. Some of the best times with Isabel and Blake would be when Ryan and one child were on one team and Taddy (that’s Lee) and the other child on the opposing team would play corn hole. This was a serious match-up.

Lee worked in manufacturing his entire career. This often meant shift work. Still he didn’t want to miss out on any activities with Ryan. One Easter Lee had worked the third shift but didn’t want to miss out on hunting Easter eggs with Ryan. Exhausted, he fell asleep in a chair covered with stuffed Easter bunnies, plastic eggs and candy! Lee spent every moment that he could with his son. Ryan was the most important person in his life. When Ryan was young Lee bought him all sorts of toys. Bobbie was never sure if they were really for Ryan or for Lee. Lee admitted that he wanted his son to have everything that he didn’t and yes, he wanted to play right along with him. Ryan shared that Lee was always there for him, always made time for him and taught him values and how to be a man, a good husband and a good father. Being an only child, Ryan went everywhere with his parents. Lee was so proud of Ryan and his accomplishments. When he’d introduce Ryan to his friends, he’d say, “this is my son Ryan, he’s an engineer with Lockheed-Martin”.

Please don’t get the idea that Lee didn’t love Bobbie because he did! They both doted on their son. The two met in Lake City then Bobbie moved to Jacksonville Beach to go to court reporting school. Lee followed her over and they’ve been married for thirty-five years. Bobbie described Lee as a good husband; he let her have her way, so that worked out very nicely. He jumped in and learned how to clean house and keep things neat and tidy. He also realized that housework in not fun and was happy to hire a housekeeper though often critical of her work, he wasn’t about to take it over again.

At fifty, Lee had a midlife crisis. The only way to cure it was to buy a Corvette! It made him feel young again. A few years later, he bought a motorcycle. This was even more fun because Ryan had one too. They would go to Daytona Beach for Bike Week and enjoy all that it had to offer.

Lee sought out membership into the Masons. This was an important part of his life. He was always in attendance at their meetings, enjoyed the comradery of his fellow Masons and both he and Bobbie had great fun at the social functions. Taddy earlier that was Isabel and Blake’s name for their grandfather. Lee was so excited when Isabel was being born that he stayed at the hospital for the entire 32 hours of labor that Dana went through! When the grandchildren came to visit, go course there were games to play and Taddy made sure that there were lots of treats – cookies, popsicles and soft drinks. He called Blake “the little wild man” and he would always tease Isabel about boys.

Memorial donations may be made to Morocco Patient Transportation Fund, 3800 St. Johns Bluff Road South, Jacksonville, Fl. 32224

In memory of Lee Umstead