Tacoma, WA- John Joseph Lee, 81, died in his home at 8201 north sixth Ave, Tacoma Washington on April 27, 2010 of an apparent heart attack. Born March 6, 1929 in Salem Massachusetts he enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1950 and served in Korea. He graduated from Merrimack College in 1956 with a degree in Business Administration. Two weeks after graduating he joined the Veterans Administration as assistant personnel director of the West Haven, Connecticut VA Hospital. In 1957 he was promoted and transferred to the VA Hospital in Manchester. N.H. It was there that he met his wife of 50 years, Josephine Mary Klocek. He spent the next 10 years working in personnel departments for the Veterans Administration across the country. In 1970, while attached to the VA hospital in Gainesville, Florida he received his Masters Degree in Hospital Administration from the University of Florida. In 1973 he was transferred to Washington D.C. where he took up the position as executive assistant to the Associate Chief Medical Director. He was next assigned to direct the 191 bed VA Hospital in Livermore California, from there he took the post as Hospital director of the 400 bed VA hospital in Vancouver Washington. He oversaw the consolidation of both the Portland Oregon and Vancouver Hospitals and went on to serve as director of the VA hospital in Long Beach, California before returning back to Washington D.C.. In 1986 he was appointed the Regional Director of the Mid- Atlantic Region. He served as regional director until 1989 when he retired after 36 years of distinguished service to the Veterans Administration. He went on to start his own hospital consulting firm, Lee and Associates, which was based in Durham, N.C.. 1n 1999, at the age of 70, he retired and moved to Mesa, Arizona and after 9 years moved once again to Tacoma Washington to be close to his children and grandchildren. Lee is survived by his wife, Josephine, and six of his seven children: Rosemary Slote, Patricia Familetto, Michael Lee, David Lee, Stacia Lee, Maryann Hogarth and eleven grandchildren. Funeral Services for Lee were held on Saturday May 1st at Saint Patrick's Church, 1001 North J Street, Tacoma Washington. Mr. Lee will be laid to rest in St. Hedwig's Cemetery in Bedford, N. H. on May 4th at 10:30 a.m.