A Short, Incomplete Bio

From Newsday: Gary H. Lee His Granddaughter Was His Life November 9, 2001 Gary Lee, a vice president of telecommunications at Cantor Fitzgerald and the general manager of voice data for Cantor subsidiary eSpeed, was a dedicated professional who was popular among his colleagues, his wife said. But away from his 102nd floor office in Tower One, Lee lived a simple life, spending much of his time with loved ones and indulging his penchant for collecting. On any given Sunday during the football season, relatives said, Lee could be found on the sidelines rooting for the team his only child, Gary, was coaching. When he wasn't cheering on his son's team, he got his football fix watching Michael John-a distant relative he'd been close to since the youth was a toddler -show his prowess on the field. Relatives said, though, that Lee, 62, was truly in his element in the company of his 3-year-old granddaughter, Julia Nicole, his "Ju Ju." Whether it was tooling around with her in her Barbie jeep or blowing their duck whistles at the Long Island Ducks game, it was often difficult to tell who was the toddler. He "lived for his granddaughter," said Eileen Lee, his wife of 40 years. "He just adored her." Lee was a history buff who was fascinated with things from bygone times. He constantly scoured flea markets, his wife said, searching for items to add to his collection of stamps, eagles, bayonets and baseball cards. He was particularly proud of his 1948 Studebaker and was a fixture at vintage car shows across Long Island, she said. Lee was born in Astoria to Josephine and the late Herbert Lee. One of nine children, he is survived by five siblings, James, Charles, Ronald, Thomas and Joanne. Relatives said all who knew him felt the sting of his sarcastic humor, which invariably painted smiles on the faces of those within earshot. He was quiet, they said, but he made everybody laugh. -- Collin Nash (Newsday) November 28, 2001 (from the New York Times) Gary H. Lee: The Incurable Collector Bayonets. Eagles. Baseball cards. Hess trucks. Vinyl records. Matchbooks. Coins. Stamps. Old record players. These were some of the things Gary H. Lee collected. Just about anything might meet his criteria and turn into a full- blown collection. Mr. Lee, 62, and known variously as Uncle Dude, Big Gary or Pop Pop, lived with his wife, Eileen, in Lindenhurst, on Long Island, where the attic was very full. There is all this World War II gear up there — helmets, uniforms, bayonets. He had something like 150 bayonets and swords, 40,000 baseball cards, dozens of statues and pictures of eagles, every birthday and anniversary card he ever received. "He was collecting his whole life," said Gary A. Lee, his son. "And he never sold anything." Mr. Lee, a senior vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald, did not collect cars, but he always wanted a Studebaker. About 15 years ago, he bought a 1948 model that he lovingly restored and took to car shows, winning several first- and second-place trophies. His wife and son are trying to sort through his myriad collections. Some of the bayonets are being donated to a new World War II museum that the town of Babylon is opening in Lindenhurst. As for the baseball cards, the eagles and the Hess trucks, his son is going to continue those collections. "I think he would want me to," he said. These sketches were written by Carla Baranauckas, Nichole M. Christian, Jane Gross, Constance L. Hays, Jan Hoffman, N.R. Kleinfield, Barbara Stewart and Robert F. Worth. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

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