Gary J. Lee -70 of Coon Rapids, formerly of Anoka, passed away at the New Brighton Care Center in New Brighton, MN on February 20th, 2022 after a courageous battle with trigeminal neuralgia and multiple sclerosis. It was an unusually warm day in February, signaling that the Lord, his Savior, was ready to welcome Gary to his heavenly home.

Gary John Lee was born January 20, 1952 in Bottineau, North Dakota the third child and only son of Harold and Irene (Getzlaff) Lee. His family moved to Tioga, North Dakota upon the discovery of oil in the region. Summers were spent joyfully at his grandmother's farm near Gardena, North Dakota. Growing up Gary played basketball, baseball and football but had a particular love for baseball playing in what he imagined as "Metropolitan Coliseum" based on the old Metropolitan Stadium of his favorite baseball team, the Minnesota Twins.  During high school, Gary worked as a DJ at KTGO radio in Tioga, ND. Gary graduated from Tioga High School in 1970 and went on to study at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, earning his BA in Broadcast Journalism in 1974. He missed his commencement ceremony so that he could marry the love of his life, Rebecca Olson, on May 11th, 1974, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Mooreton, North Dakota. They were married for 47 years and a couple for 51 years.

After graduating college and marrying Becky the couple moved to Bismarck, North Dakota to work and begin their married life. During this time Gary worked as a PR Specialist at Melroe, later looking back on it as his favorite job. Gary also worked as a sports editor for the Mandan Morning Pioneer, and as news director and morning talk show host for KBOM radio in Bismarck. It was during this time that he got to interview Lawrence Welk and shake the hand of President Jimmy Carter.

Gary and Becky moved to Urbana, Illinois in 1977 to pursue master's degrees at the University of Illinois. He was proud to earn his Master of Science in Advertising in 1980. After graduation, Gary and Rebecca moved to the Twin Cities to be near family. They purchased their first home near Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, and welcomed their two daughters, Jessica and Angela. Gary was a proud father and enjoyed raising his two children. In 1995 Gary ended his career early due to disability, and although this was a loss, this also enabled him to spend precious time at home raising his two girls.

In 1996 Gary and his family moved to Anoka, Minnesota and adopted an orange tabby kitten named Pumpkin. At first Gary, who grew up with beloved dogs, Booty and Skippy, and a cat named Bunny, thought he would have a hard time looking at a "triangle face" every day, but soon found a great friend in his beloved feline companion. Gary inherited a love of animals from his parents and very much enjoyed having pets in the home. He documented his life and times in faithful journal entries for many years, recording happenings in his family, the weather, sports and the world at large. This enabled him to keep up with all the skills he learned in his journalistic career. Gary was a fantastic writer and passed on this talent to both of his girls. Gary was a lifelong fan of Twins Baseball, the Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He loved taking in baseball games with his family but like his hero, Sid Hartman, thought football was better watched at home on TV. He enjoyed learning about meteorology, all sports, print news media and music from the '60s and '70s. Gary was a longtime subscriber of the Star Tribune, and his hometown newspaper the Tioga Tribune. Gary said he could play songs in his mind just by looking at old Billboard charts. In the summers Gary enjoyed fishing, waterskiing, swimming and falling asleep in the hammock at the lake cottages of his in-laws, Manny and Grace Olson, on Lake Clitherall and later on Blanche Lake near Battle Lake, MN.

Gary will be remembered for his quick-witted sense of humor,  and his optimistic outlook on life, always choosing joy in the face of life's obstacles, which he faced with stoicism and bravery. Although, Gary frequently said he would live to be 100,  because of his cheerful disposition and curiosity about the world, his life was certainly not diminshed by only attaining 70 years.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Irene (Getzlaff) Lee; father-in-law, Manford Olson; his grandparents, Art and Lillian (McLaury) Lee, and John and Emma (Hahn) Getzlaff; his sister, Diane Lee; nephew, Ronnie Braun; great-niece, Kylee Bontjes; brother-in-law, Ed Welle; step-father, Nick Brilz; step-father, Ernie Wolla; numerous aunts and uncles; beloved pets, Skippy, Booty, Bunny, Baby, Mya, Tweety, and Pumpkin.

Gary is survived by his beloved wife and soulmate, Rebecca, of Coon Rapids, MN; daughters, Jessica Lee of Minneapolis, MN, and Angela Lee (Ryland Witzler) of St. Paul, MN; sisters, Melany Welle (David Freese) of Tampa, FL; Linda (Scott) Fifer of Tioga, ND, mother-in-law Grace Olson of Fargo, ND, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and brothers- and sisters-in law, Pat Beithon of Minneapolis; Ramona (Rick) Engelmann of Richland, WA; David (Sydney Rubin) Olson of Brookline, MA; Bill (Kelly Gilchrist) Olson of Yorktown Heights, NY and Karen (Cort) Cieminski of Plymouth, MN. Special friends from his men's bible study group in Ramsey, MN, especially his good friend, Mitch Wiczek. Weekly meetings with his bible study group were important to him in recent years. Gary was a longtime parishioner of St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Anoka, formerly a parishioner of Our Lady of Peace and St. Kevin's in Minneapolis, MN.

Funeral will be on Saturday, March 19th, 2022 at St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Anoka, MN with visitation starting at 10 AM, Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM and lunch will be served at 12 PM. There will be an open microphone at lunch and all are welcome to share their special memories of Gary.