Dennis Grady Lee

Memorial services for Dennis Grady Lee will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Georgia. A reception will follow in the First Presbyterian Fellowship Hall. Mr. Lee passed away on December 30, 2022, in Thomasville, Georgia, after a heroic battle with cancer. He was born in Statesboro, Georgia, on April 15, 1940, the oldest child of Juliette Colson Lee and Ernest Edward Lee. Mr. Lee graduated from Screven County High School where he played basketball and football. He was a proud 1964 graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Mr. Lee received his Master of Business of Administration from Valdosta State College in 1986. Mr. Lee worked as an engineer for BP Amoco and Shaw Industries in Bainbridge, Georgia, where he managed the plant operation. While living in Bainbridge, he served his community well with his organizational talents. He was President of the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Decatur County Library Board. Mr. Lee was presented the Walter Cox award as a leader among leaders by his peers. In 1992, Mr. Lee was chosen as the Decatur County Man of the Year. He was actively involved in the Rotary Club International and the Bainbridge Y.M.C.A. On September 16, 1996, Dennis married Brenda Palmer Haslam of Thomasville, Georgia. After moving to Thomasville, he went to work with Southern Regional Technical College where he created and taught the Business program and later was the Dean of Academic Affairs. At his death, he was the Vice-President of Economic Development. Mr. Lee was a member of the Thomas County Chamber of Commerce Leadership in 2006. He was a faithful member of First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville where he served as an Elder and taught Sunday School for many years. A man of kindness and outstanding character, he is survived by his wife of 26 years, Brenda Palmer Lee, his children by his late wife Margaret Thompson Lee, John Lee (Kathy), Michael Lee (Jody), Elizabeth Embry (Cooper). He was a devoted stepfather to James Haslam (Meredith) and Palmer Smith (Foster), a grandfather to Lindsay Lee, John Ryan Lee, Rebekah Lee, Joshua Lee, Colson Lee (Kelly), Mary Margaret McMillan (Daniel), Sarah Lee, Charters Embry, Price Embry, and Margaret Embry, a step-grandfather to Palmer Haslam, Patton Haslam, Anna Alden Haslam, Ann Smith, and Charles Smith, a great-grandfather to Addie Lee and Miles Lee. He is also survived by his sister Judi Crews (Carl) and his brother Robert Lee (Paula). Mr. Lee will be laid to rest in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Thomasville, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, Emory Eye Clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, and Southern Regional Technical College.