Charles B. Lee

Lee, Charles B. age 93, of Minnetonka, March 22, 2011. Husband of the late Ruth Nielsen Lee, father of Charles F. Lee of Roseburg Oregon (Susan Tanabe), Stephen J. Lee of Circle Pines (Deborah Gramling) and Patricia Marcroft (Robert Marcroft). Grandfather of Matthew Lee (Carly), Erin Sharkey (Zoe), Harry Lee, Benjamin Lee, Patrick Lee, Joanna Lee, Thomas Marcroft and Lucas Marcroft. Great grandfather of Elias Olson-Sawyer, Calder Lee, and Delilah Lee; and missed by Linda Lee and Fadel Al-Fulaij. Charles Benjamin Lee was born in Seattle, Washington on July 27, 1917 son of Ida and Francis Lee. Francis Lee's parents, Thomas Lee and Julia Reilly Lee, emigrated from Ireland in 1865. Ida's parents, Charles De ager (birth name Tjerk DeJager) and Fenna DeJager (birth name Fenna Oudman, American name unknown). Tjerk and Fenna and Ida (birth name Auktje) and her brother Bote emigrated from Oldehove and Niehove Holland to Grand Rapids in 1882. Charles Lee was a proud graduate of West Seattle High and the University of Washington, with bachelor and master degrees in electrical engineering. He was inspired by the great hydroelectric generating projects in the Pacific Northwest in the 1930s. World War II interrupted his study for a doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley. He was given the choice of joining the Naval Ordinance Laboratory in Washington D.C. as a civilian with the equivalent rank of lieutenant, or being drafted into the Army. At NOL he made life- long friends. He worked on explosive detonation systems for quickly scuttling ships, proximity fuses for naval torpedoes and anti-aircraft ordinance, and degaussing systems for reducing magnetic fields accumulated by ships at sea. After the war he went to Racine, Wisconsin, to join the John B. Oster Manufacturing Company. He met Ruth Nielsen, the company's switchboard operator, while perfecting the shape of the blades for the company's commercial milk shake mixer. Ruth was the daughter of John Nielsen and Dagmar Nielsen (Rasmussen) of Racine. Charlie and Ruth married on April 19, 1947. All three of the couple's children were born in Racine. He stayed with Oster for about ten years, and worked on the famous Osterizer blender, the home hair clipper, a home orange juice squeezing machine and other projects. About 1956 Charles and Ruth moved their family to Massapequa, New York, and then to York, Maine. He designed precision motors and aircraft instruments for Arma and for Eastern Air Devices. In 1960 the family moved to Minnetonka Mills, Minnesota, when Charlie joined Cedar Engineering, which was one of the first pieces of Control Data Corporation. Cedar made money in the early years and helped support Control Data while the computer business grew. Charlie worked for Control Data where he relished his role as an old man among all the young engineers until he retired in 1982. He worked primarily on peripherals, including early disk drives. He was an expert on precision braking systems for gigantic tape drives when he retired, about the time that technology disappeared. Charles Lee was a kind and gentle quiet man, with never a cross word to or about others. He was a wonderful father, husband, grandfather and great grandfather. We give thanks to the wonderful staff of the Elder Homestead at 11400 4th Street North in Minnetonka, 55343 for their compassionate care and their friendship for Charlie and Ruth the past six years, and ask that any memorial funds be sent there. Family graveside services have been held at Groveland Cemetery in Minnetonka. Washburn-McReavy Strobeck Johnson Chapel 952 938-9020

Tributes

Charles B. Lee

March 27, 2011

Tributes

Charles B. Lee

March 27, 2011

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