Dr. Gary David Lee Obituary (1960 - 2015)

Gary David Lee, son of Maurice and Helen Lee, was born on March 6, 1960, in Sacramento, California, minutes after his twin sister. He was the third child of five. His father was a U.S. Air Force pilot, so Gary's family lived on air force bases in his early years, mainly at Travis Air Force Base in California, then Yokota Air Force Base in Japan. Gary spent his teenage years in Kaysville, Utah, where he attended and graduated from Davis High School. He served an LDS Church mission in the Mexico Hermosillo mission from 1979-1981. Gary married his longtime friend and love, Janet Keller, on July 21, 1982 in the Jordan River Temple. They became the parents of seven children: Sam, Aubri, Gentry, Paige, Breann, Tason, and Jocelyn, and a few dozen bonus kids who found their way into the warmth of the Lee home. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Weber State College in 1987. He completed medical school at the University of Utah, graduating with his M.D. degree in 1992. After a family medicine residency at the University of Utah and its affiliates, Gary began work as a family practice physician at Tanner Clinic in Kaysville, Utah. He practiced there for 20 years, up until the time of his passing. Gary was a lifelong learner and loved to read. He didn't like to rush patient visits and he took extra time to give his patients the care they needed, making for very long work days. His children describe him as an incredible listener and excellent teacher. He had a great sense of humor, and a goofy side that delighted some, and annoyed many :) He was patient and gentle, and found purpose and joy in helping others. He is survived by his wife, Janet (Keller) Lee, and children: Sam, Analee, Aubri, Chris, Gentry, Paige, Breann, Tason, Jocelyn, as well as six grandchildren, his mother, Helen, and siblings Marc, Gayle, Susan and Paul. He was greatly loved, and will be greatly missed. The previous details of Gary's life are important and essential, part of the black and white framework; now we wanted to add some color: Gary had the usual mishaps of childhood: Measles. Scabbed knees. Getting his head trapped between the bars of a porch railing, requiring his head to be buttered to ease it loose. One time, his freshly-washed pajamas had been hung out on the clothesline, and produced some unusual contortions when he put them on, until his parents realized that a wasp had gotten trapped in them and was stinging him repeatedly. On a rainy day in Japan, he stepped into what he thought was a puddle; it turned out to be a benjo ditch (translation: Japanese open sewer) and he fell in up to his waist. We've all been there. Gary took piano lessons and became proficient at the Barry Manilow song, "Mandy," which was a frequent favorite of his (but no one else's). His sisters retaliated by singing "Star Bright," a song he detested, up the heater vent as loud as they could. They knew they hit their mark when he appeared angrily in front of them. As a teenager, he wanted a dog, and inherited a fat poodle named Gigi, not exactly every boy's dream pet, and not even remotely his dream pet, but he was a good sport, and took good care of her and all the less-than-pleasant chores that went along with her. He sang with the Madrigals, the choir at Davis High, and had a brief flirtation with clogging (a type of dancing, for you youngsters), back when Riverdance was a thing. But his favorite things were science and reading, so his musical pursuits remained hobbies and not careers. However, besides the clogging, he had many talents; among them, a killer imitation of Grover from Sesame Street. Gary had a twin sister. It was a source of amusement for both of them that they were sometimes asked if they were identical twins. Hmmmm. They didn't look much alike, but even if they did, it would still be a dumb question, unless identical stops meaning exactly the same. He and his twin, Gayle, discovered that if they stood back-to-back and linked arms, they fit together perfectly. (This was probably not the case as middle-age and its inevitable lumpiness set in.) At the time, they gave each other nicknames: Gayle named Gary "Puzzle," and he called her "Love Key." He was a source of help and advice to his siblings in their growing-up years, a confidante for Susie, who thought she was very popular when girls her age were showing up at the house, until she realized they were coming for her cute brother. At one point during medical school, he did odd jobs, anything he could find to make some money for his family. He claimed the distinction of being the highest-trained Kelly girl in the history of the Kelly Temp agency. For one job, he had to be fully suited-up, with a respirator and a handheld jackhammer, chiseling cement out of the inside of a cement mixer in the middle of the summer. That was his first and last day on that job. Gary worked at McKay-Dee hospital for a while in the psychiatric ward as a technician. One time, a patient pulled a sharpened belt buckle on him and took him hostage. The patient apologized, saying something like, "Nothing personal." He forced Gary to take him down the elevator and out of the hospital, where the patient was later caught a few blocks away. Janet found out about it on the news afterwards, and asked Gary if he happened to be taken hostage at work. (Just a day in the life of a psych ward attendant, and Gary took it in stride, though it must have rattled him.) Gary was able to put his medical skills to use early on, when his children were small. One of the boys tried to give the cat a bath and there was more water inside the cat than outside of it; it pretty much drowned. Gary and a friend worked on the cat to save it, (mouth-to-muzzle? CPR with one finger?) and managed to successfully resuscitate it. The cat probably avoided Gentry at all costs after that. Gary and Janet have caring and kind children who accept and love everyone in a way any parent would be proud of; they followed the example of their parents, who welcomed many extra kids into their home. His children say that loving was always more important than controlling, that he was an excellent teacher who took time to make sure they understood; a quality that he used with his patients. Gary didn't go into Medicine for the money; he was always interested in helping people. He used the Spanish he learned on his mission to help his Spanish-speaking patients. He ingested books and was always learning, always hungry for more. He loved to find a quiet corner with a pile of books and fill his brain. If he didn't have the answers, he would research and find them. He was kind and funny and intelligent and generous. Those who knew him would describe him as gentle, engaging and caring. As a family physician, he believed that his role was to inform and care to the best of his ability to help each patient make the right decision about his or her own health. Gary had an unusual condition called situs inversus, in which the major organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal position. It's fairly rare; found in only 1 out of 10, 000 people, and he joked about needing to shift his hand over to the right side to place it over his heart when he said the Pledge of Allegiance. Gary was rare in more than one way; in so many good ways. So many people scrabble for attention in this loud worlda"most times, Gary preferred to stay pleasantly in the background. Yet he stood out without intending to. There is so much more to this sweet husband, father, brother, son, grandfather, healer and wonderful human being. We miss you and will always miss you in this life, Gary. The world is a little darker without you in it. We love you, always. In lieu of flowers or other donations, Gary's daughter Aubri and her family have recently had their home destroyed by a tornado that hit their community in Texas. Please consider helping them with rebuilding: https://mobile.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_express-checkout- mobile&useraction=commit&token=EC-38C65311KS7880016#m or https://www.gofundme.com/alvarezfamily Funeral Services will be held Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at LDS Ward Chapel, 205 South Angel Street, Kaysville, Utah. Family and friends may gather Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Myers Mortuary, 250 North Fairfield Road, Layton, Utah and from 11:45 to 12:25 at the church prior to services. VisitationMyers Mortuary of Layton 250 N. Fairfield Rd. Layton, UT 84041 November 6, 2015 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM ServiceLDS Ward Chapel 205 South Angel Street Kaysville, UT November 7, 2015 1:00 PM