Don & Maria Lee

His Story

Donald Travers “Grandpapa” Lee, passed away March 6, 2024, at the age of 80, just one year after losing his beautiful wife of 46 years, Maria Luisa Lee. Don was living with his daughter, Christina Lee Gibson and family in Berthoud, Colorado.

Don is survived by his daughter Christina (Stephen), sons Michael (Amanda) and Manuel Lee, his twin brother David (Judy) Lee and sister Nancy (Charles) Evans, and two wonderful grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father George Francis Lee, mother Winifred Wyatt, brothers George Lee and Richard Lee and wife Maria.

Don was born January 18, 1944, in Brooklyn NY then relocated with his family to Oceanside, Long Island for a bit before settling into a small town in upstate NY, North Chatham. While growing up, Don played baseball and was selected for the Little League All-Stars, participated in various 4-H club activities, including square dancing (winning a county contest) and cow judging (winning a number of blue ribbons) and excelled academically. He was editor of the school newspaper and was the senior class president. With a scholarship he went onto Siena College for two years then transferred to Manhattan College where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Science in 1966. He embarked on graduate studies in physics at the University of Buffalo and received his Ph.D. in 1971 in Theoretical Statistical Mechanics. He then accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Cologne in Germany. After returning to the U.S. he taught part-time for a year at Heald College in NY and CA. Unable to secure a full-time teaching position in physics on the East Coast, Don made the trek across the US to live with his brother George and family while he continued looking for permanent employment in the SF Bay area.

In 1973 Don accepted a position at Bank of America where he carried numerous successful positions beginning with Lead Engineer and culminating his career after 41 years as Senior Vice President/Director of Engineering. It was while he worked at the bank that he met his “foxy” Maria and after a brief six week courtship, they were married June 19, 1976. Soon after the two moved north to Petaluma and raised three children.

Together, Don and Maria spent a lot of time creating their home. Don didn’t like to sit idle and would look for weekend projects ranging from hobby wood working to major home repair and remodeling efforts. One of his last projects was to build a barn. Don may have been most well known for being a picky eater. He loved good crusty sourdough bread and ironically frozen microwave meals. He was also known for hating leftovers, no matter how much he enjoyed the food initially. Don enjoyed reading, photography and often got a chuckle finding ways to catch people off guard usually by saying something inappropriate or crass. Above all, Don lived for his beautiful wife and his wonderful heart just couldn’t hold up with her gone.

Please join us in the celebration of his life on March 25, 10:30 a.m., at Mass at St. James Catholic Church in Petaluma. Inurnment will follow at 12:00 p.m. at Calvary Cemetery in Petaluma.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to an Animal Rescue or Service Organization.

Her Story

Maria Luisa “Lita” Lee, Mother, Grandmother, Wife, and dear Friend, passed away peacefully at her home in Petaluma on February 10, 2023, as a result of brain cancer. She was 69 years old. Surrounded by her husband of 46 years and children she raised in the same house, Maria was comforted by family and friends, sharing memories by those blessed to know her.

Partner in life and craftwork, she is survived by her husband Donald Lee, a duo that together on most weekends accomplished spectacular creative projects around the house. She is survived by her daughter Christina Lee Gibson (Stephen), sons Michael (Amanda) and Manuel Lee, her father Arthur Rodriguez Sr., sister Laura Dudley, brother Arthur Rodriguez Jr. and two wonderful grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother Laura Rodriguez, and her sister Rosario Wheeler.

Maria was born October 17, 1953, in Tepic, Nayarit in Mexico, and raised in San Francisco, California. Following her high school graduation, she attended business school and began work at Bank of America where she was destined to meet the love of her life, Donald Lee. After a brief six weeks of courtship, Don and Maria were married. Together, the two moved north to Petaluma. Initially hesitant about the distance from her family, Maria would come to embrace this beautiful city as her forever home.

Secondary to raising children, with lots of love and support and her closeness to family, Maria’s life was fulfilled by her crafts, which were really art. Needlepoint, crochet, quilting, collecting miniature relics, and generating displays were some of her many forms of beautiful expression. Not a wall in the house is without an item of significance to her. She could tell you the background and story behind each “piece” she has in her home; everything had genuine value to her.

Maria has a beautiful soul: loving, strong, complex, and genuine. In lieu of flowers, please donate to an Animal Rescue or Service Organization. Maria sheltered many dogs and cats from shelters, many as seniors with ailments that made them less desirable for adoption.