John S. Lee
I would just like to share my love and gratitude for my father. I know its kind of late and I felt bad but I just couldn’t bring myself to write anything. I was dealing with the grief and the memories. I had a dream about my Dad last night where he and I was talking like having a father and son talk. He would always do that with me and I felt so happy that he was here in my dreams. I also had a dream about my mother. I am grateful that my Dad was so kind to spend what time that he had with me during his busy years at GE especially when I was growing up and spreading my wings. He always taught me not to talk about myself too much so I will try to tell how much he helped me. Dad would always work every day diligently at his desk and he would go to work everyday from 6 am to 5 pm to GE. He would come home and rest a bit and then work some more. I always remembered him shuffling papers, calculating numbers on the slide rule and writing his reports. His writing was very neat and distinctively clear. Then he would eat supper with us and my mother and Jason. He also love to watch the news like Frontline, CNN and other news talk TV and he also read the newspaper. He also loved to listen to classical music every day which he would sit by the stereo. My Dad was not an overly affectionate man but you knew he cared for you by his work and his giving of himself to you when you needed him. He never talk about himself so I had to find out about his achievements through a resume which he left on his desk after he retired. He worked on the SST, the Delta Stealth fighter, and many other projects. My Mom used to tell me that he invented a way to test jet engine noise in a swimming pool which he won a prize for. I was always proud of him for his achievements. I also remembered he had many aerospace magazines and engineering journals that he read. My Dad was also interested in the liberal arts and culture. He gave me a present of 53 volumes of the Great Books of the Western World which contained authors like Freud, Kant, and Plato. They were hard bound in nice cover. They were for my high school graduation from Sycamore High School. This was a gift that I could never forget. He also played chess with me. I could never beat him-I only won three chess games in all the games that I played with him which is more than a hundred. I would try the Sicilian, the Stonewall and other strategies but he would always demolish my strategies! He helped me go to Ohio State and to Brigham Young University to get my degrees in history. He also took care of my mother, Theresa, when I was young. My mother had some issues and he was always by her side and he was always a strength and a support to her. He was such a strength and a rock in our family. He also loved my step-mother Jane and was a support when she was sick. He helped my brother and step brothers with their lives. Dad, I hope that I can emulate your example as a kind, generous, compassionate and reflective but practical man. Thanks for everything. Love, John