Necrology

Charles George Lee '45

Mar. 30, 1922-Apr. 26, 2006

Charles George Lee ’45, a retired junior high school teacher, was born on March 30, 1922, the youngest of nine children, in Utica, NY. A son of Italian immigrants Carmine V., an orthopedic shoemaker, and Josephine Mercurio Lia (Lee), he came to College Hill in 1941 from Utica’s Thomas R. Proctor High School. Charlie Lee, both gregarious and a gentle soul, remained on the Hill for three semesters before withdrawing from the College to enter the U.S. Army in 1943. He served in North Africa and Italy, where he was attached to a military mission to the Italian Army in Rome. Awarded the Croce di Guerra by the Italian government, Cpl. Lee was released from the Army after the end of World War II in 1945.

Charlie Lee returned to Hamilton in the spring of 1946. A member of the Squires Club and the Choir, he completed his studies in the summer of 1947 and received his diploma in June 1948. Uncertain about his future career but thinking it might lie in the fashion industry, he went to New York City and spent two years at the Traphagen School of Fashion, where he earned a certificate in fashion design in 1950. He obtained a job with the then well-known women’s apparel designer Philip Mangone, but soon concluded that working in the fashion industry was not for him.

In 1951, Charlie Lee found employment as an investigator for the New York State Department of Labor. Two years later, back in Utica, he became a case worker for the Oneida County Department of Social Services. Still not satisfied with his career choice, he sought the advice of Hamilton Professor David M. Ellis ’38, who suggested he go into teaching. He heeded that advice, which he never had cause to regret, for it led to 31 exceedingly happy years in the classroom.

Charlie Lee, who in 1958 would strengthen his academic credentials with an M.S. degree in education from the State University of New York College at Oneonta, began teaching social studies in the Utica School System in 1956. He taught primarily at Horatio Seymour School until his retirement in 1987. Active in numerous educational and community organizations, he was a life member and former treasurer of the Oneida County Historical Society. He was also a lifelong communicant of St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Church, where he helped maintain the altar cloths and did other volunteer work. In addition, he enjoyed travel to Europe and especially to Italy.

Charles G. Lee, a faithful alumnus who regularly attended class reunions and often designed items for those occasions, died in Utica on April 21, 2006. Unmarried and predeceased by all of his sisters and brothers, including Vito S. Lee ’28, he is survived by numerous nephews and nieces, to whom he was devoted. Among them is Pasquale V. Scarpino ’54.

 

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