Obituary for John Anthony Lee
John Anthony Lee, 95, of Rutherford passed away on August 15, 2021, at home and in the presence of family. He was married to his beloved wife Antoinette for 67 years.
John grew up poor in a cold water railroad apartment in Jersey City, where he collected coal from the railroad tracks to heat the home. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his aunt. In his youth, he worked as a milkman, getting up well before dawn each day to deliver milk to the triple decker apartments. He graduated from Dickinson High School early in 1943 to enlist in the US Navy (the food was better than the Army food, he would say), serving first in WWII at Pearl Harbor and on the USS Intrepid in the Pacific. He trained as an electrician’s assistant and worked in all forms of base and ship’s communications. He answered his country’s call again in the Korean War in 1951, mining Soviet subs in the North Atlantic on the USS Huse, as a First Class Petty Officer. Upon leaving the Navy he parlayed his discharge payment into dancing lessons, and was known to cut a mean rug well into his later years. He joined IBM in 1956 as a field service engineer, where he kept the big iron mainframes and big printers running for numerous large clients, enjoying a successful career and making many lifetime friends until retiring in 1987.
John was creative, inventive and a lot of fun at parties. A natural tinkerer and problem solver, he could fix most anything and was always building something, from a large Heathkit color TV to small wooden toys for the grandchildren. An ardent gardener, he had a gift for making things grow. He was an avid reader of anything science and health related, and professed the benefits of Tiger’s Milk (his invention) and Wheat Germ for many years. He loved stargazing, boating, deep sea fishing, smoking cigars and playing cribbage and chess. He relished the close ties forged with neighbors over many decades and was a fixture at the neighborhood parties. He and Ann enjoyed a 12-couple neighbor cruise to the Bahamas where John was legendary with his technicolor dream coat and fu manchu ‘stache. He was popular with all the neighborhood children, often giving them rides on his motorcycle. On Sundays he would most always be over someone’s house watching football and carrying on. He cheered on the Yankees and Giants and was known to repeatedly yell out to the TV from his armchair, startling Mom. His battles with the local squirrel population were epic. He loved a good laugh, a nice smoke and a cold can of beer. He was a consummate whistler and could really carry a tune!
He was predeceased by his sister Sabina Wanot and brother Ziggy Matelski. In addition to his wife, he leaves behind daughters Lisa Lee Cardo (Frank), Eve Lee Kein (Stephen) and Alexis Lee Rinaldi (Frank), and son John Peter Lee (Amy). He also leaves grandchildren Amanda Cavanaugh (Robert), Frank Cardo (Brianne), Robert Kein, Stephen Kein, Zachary Rinaldi, Maxwell Lee and Rebecca Lee, and step-grandchildren Anthony and Joshua Rinaldi. He welcomed great-grandson Mason Lee Cardo in 2019.
Family will receive friends Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00pm in the Calhoun-Mania Funeral Home, 19 Lincoln Ave., Rutherford.
Private Cremation.
In lieu of flowers, John’s family asks that you perform a random act of kindness in his honor sometime soon.
At the request of the Lee family masks & social distancing will be required during visiting hours.
John grew up poor in a cold water railroad apartment in Jersey City, where he collected coal from the railroad tracks to heat the home. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his aunt. In his youth, he worked as a milkman, getting up well before dawn each day to deliver milk to the triple decker apartments. He graduated from Dickinson High School early in 1943 to enlist in the US Navy (the food was better than the Army food, he would say), serving first in WWII at Pearl Harbor and on the USS Intrepid in the Pacific. He trained as an electrician’s assistant and worked in all forms of base and ship’s communications. He answered his country’s call again in the Korean War in 1951, mining Soviet subs in the North Atlantic on the USS Huse, as a First Class Petty Officer. Upon leaving the Navy he parlayed his discharge payment into dancing lessons, and was known to cut a mean rug well into his later years. He joined IBM in 1956 as a field service engineer, where he kept the big iron mainframes and big printers running for numerous large clients, enjoying a successful career and making many lifetime friends until retiring in 1987.
John was creative, inventive and a lot of fun at parties. A natural tinkerer and problem solver, he could fix most anything and was always building something, from a large Heathkit color TV to small wooden toys for the grandchildren. An ardent gardener, he had a gift for making things grow. He was an avid reader of anything science and health related, and professed the benefits of Tiger’s Milk (his invention) and Wheat Germ for many years. He loved stargazing, boating, deep sea fishing, smoking cigars and playing cribbage and chess. He relished the close ties forged with neighbors over many decades and was a fixture at the neighborhood parties. He and Ann enjoyed a 12-couple neighbor cruise to the Bahamas where John was legendary with his technicolor dream coat and fu manchu ‘stache. He was popular with all the neighborhood children, often giving them rides on his motorcycle. On Sundays he would most always be over someone’s house watching football and carrying on. He cheered on the Yankees and Giants and was known to repeatedly yell out to the TV from his armchair, startling Mom. His battles with the local squirrel population were epic. He loved a good laugh, a nice smoke and a cold can of beer. He was a consummate whistler and could really carry a tune!
He was predeceased by his sister Sabina Wanot and brother Ziggy Matelski. In addition to his wife, he leaves behind daughters Lisa Lee Cardo (Frank), Eve Lee Kein (Stephen) and Alexis Lee Rinaldi (Frank), and son John Peter Lee (Amy). He also leaves grandchildren Amanda Cavanaugh (Robert), Frank Cardo (Brianne), Robert Kein, Stephen Kein, Zachary Rinaldi, Maxwell Lee and Rebecca Lee, and step-grandchildren Anthony and Joshua Rinaldi. He welcomed great-grandson Mason Lee Cardo in 2019.
Family will receive friends Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00pm in the Calhoun-Mania Funeral Home, 19 Lincoln Ave., Rutherford.
Private Cremation.
In lieu of flowers, John’s family asks that you perform a random act of kindness in his honor sometime soon.
At the request of the Lee family masks & social distancing will be required during visiting hours.