Lee was born March 12, 1943 in Buffalo, New York and moved to Punta Gorda in 2003 from there. He was a U.S. Navy veteran. Lee was a study in opposites, a high school dropout who returned to school in the Navy and did not leave until his retirement in 2003 from Buffalo State College as a professor of Philosophy. He was eccentric; a boy at heart who had a love for nature and worked tirelessly for civic causes but could just as easily drift aimlessly for hours on his boat in the Gulf of Mexico. He is much loved and will be greatly missed by all who loved and knew him.

He was survived by his beloved wife of 21 years, Elizabeth Snyder; a son, Geoffrey Snyder of Lancaster, NY; 2 daughters, Victoria Smith of Rochester, NY and Camille (Rico) Martinez of Buffalo, NY; a sister, Cheryl Snyder of Rochester, NY and 6 grandchildren.