Donald Lee

Donald Lee, 84, passed peacefully from complications due to the novel coronavirus on December 15, 2020, in Sacramento, CA. Don was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived in Miami, Florida and New York, NY. With a strong desire to serve his country, Don enlisted in the United States Navy at the young age of 17 and proudly served his term of 4 years, on Midway Island and in the most strategic islands in the Pacific, Hawaii. Don flew in P-2 Neptunes along the Pacific Northwest route, participating in maritime patrol and tracking of enemy submarines. He received an honorable discharge in 1957. Seaman Lee established and maintained close friendships with many sailors in his squadron and enjoyed seeing them during their annual reunions held throughout the United States.

Don attended and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, earning both his Bachelor of Arts and Masters Degrees in Social Science.

In 1970, he was offered and accepted one of the first faculty positions at Cosumnes River College, during the school’s opening year. Don taught for 30-years in the Social Science Department, prior to his retirement. He will be remembered as a highly respected instructor and faculty member.

Throughout his life, Don could be found reading books of vast subjects and enjoyed spending hours scouring the shelves of bookstores, especially for material related to aircrafts. During his retirement, Don would travel to various areas within the States to spend weeks at a time working on the restoration and preservation of aircrafts with his Navy friends.

He loved meeting people and could easily strike up conversations of unlimited topics. Don was always interested in others and others always found him equally interesting.

Don is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Laura, two sons Darren and David, as well as his devoted French bulldog, Doug. He was the older brother of his sister, Arlene Chan of San Francisco. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Edith Chan, formerly of Sacramento and George Lee, formerly of Greenville, Mississippi. Don was a devoted and beloved husband, father, brother and son. In addition, he will be fondly remembered as a dear uncle to Michael Mah, Diana Shiba, Bill Pong Jr., and Michele Wong. Also surviving him are in-laws, cousins and extended family who will cherish his memory.

Don will be remembered by his devoted caregiver, Joe Koroiveibau, and dear friends Ken Lum and David Uyematsu.

The family expresses heartfelt gratitude to Don’s medical team at UCD Medical Center that attended him during his final days, as well as Dr. Timothy Ngo, Kaiser Permanente, for his excellent and attentive care provided to Don for many years.

Due to COVID-19, no memorial events are planned.