Obituary of Raymond M. Lee

Raymond M. Lee, age 92, of Wisconsin Rapids, went to his eternal home Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at Aspirus Riverview Hospital. Services will be at 11:00 A.M. Monday, October 19, 2015 at First English Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids. Rev. Kenneth Hanson will officiate. Visitation will be held from 9:00 A.M. on Monday until the time of service at the church. Burial with military rites will be at 12:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at Lake View Memorial Park in Oshkosh. Ray, as he was called by the many who knew him well, was born September 23, 1923 in Stevens Point to Harold and Wilhelmina (Simon) Lee. He graduated from P.J. Jacobs High School in Stevens Point in 1942. After high school Ray attended UW Stevens Point until enlisting in the United States Army in 1943. He was then assigned to the United States Army Air Corps. After completing basic training Ray received advanced training in radio, gunnery and radar operation; which equipped him to become a radar/gunner aboard a 4th Emergency Rescue PBY aircraft. He was deployed to the South Pacific where he and his crew members rescued airmen who had been shot down by the Japanese over the Pacific Ocean. He was engaged in the operations until the war with Japan ended in 1944. Ray met his wife Marilyn "Dixie" Boycks while they were in high school; they became engaged in 1944. They were united in marriage on June 15, 1947 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Stevens Point. Ray and Marilyn were married for 68 years and were blessed with one son born in 1956. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Army Air Corps in 1945, Ray attended the School of Advanced Traffic in Chicago. After he completed the graduation requirements he began employment as the manager of transportation for Gross Common Carrier Inc. in Wisconsin Rapids and later became the assistant manager of traffic for Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company in Port Edwards (Domtar) where he remained until retirement. Ray is survived by his loving wife Marilyn, sister Marion Sullivan and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, his parents, son Reverend Dr. Randall R. Lee, twin brother Robert E. Lee, brother-in-law James Sullivan and niece Sandra Su