Willie Thomas Lee, Jr.

Willie T. Lee, Jr., or Bill to all who knew and loved him, died on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Bill was born in Stone Mountain, Georgia on November 24th, 1928. As a young boy, his family moved to Manchester, Georgia. After graduation, he joined the Air Force and was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas, where he met and fell in love with his first wife of 43 years, Pat Cottrell. They had three children together; son, Stephen; daughters, Debbie and Lori; and subsequent grandchildren, Courtney, Sonrisa, Cristal, Kurtis, Steven; and four great-grandchildren.

After Bill's service in the Air Force, he entered into federal civil service for 32 ½ years as a traffic management officer. After several moves, he and Pat settled at Edwards Air Force Base where he was proud to have witnessed the landing of the first 8 space shuttles. His boss was astronaut, General Stafford.

Upon retiring from the Air Force, Bill drove a tour bus in some of God's beautiful country: Yellowstone Park, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Death Valley, etc.

After full retirement and the death of Pat, Bill returned to Georgia where he was later reacquainted to Jeanette Sosebee. They began their love story and journey together on February 12, 1994, marrying and blending families, faith, and joy for 23 years. He inherited 3 more children: step daughter, Dee; and step sons, Martin and Jeff; step grandchildren; Jason, Brian, and Jessica; and 9 step great-grandchildren.
Bill enjoyed hunting, fishing, and the outdoors, but his great passion was golf which he played until late in life and had the joy of having an unheard of 4 holes in one.

Bill was a man of faith who preached his own personal sermon by how he lived life every day, honoring and loving God. He was very involved in their church, Noonday Baptist of Marietta, where he served as a deacon and church treasurer. He loved his church home and his church family passionately.

Bill loved life and never met a stranger. He was known for his great big smile. He was predeceased by his first wife, Pat; son, Stephen; and step grandson, Jason.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2017, at Marietta Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. prior to the funeral.

Bill will be buried in Topeka, Kansas next to Pat at Penwell-Gabel Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please honor his memory by donating in his name to the Noonday Baptist Church Building Fund, 4121 Canton Road, Marietta, GA 30066.