ROBERT LEE

LEE--Robert Morton.

88, renowned automobile and antique arms collector, explorer and conservationist passed away January 28, 2016 in Reno, NV surrounded by friends and his devoted wife, Anne Brockinton Lee. He was born in Woodmere, Long Island, NY on October 2, 1927. He was taught a love of nature and the outdoors by his parents, Dr. William F. Lee and Sally W. Lee. He graduated from Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie and attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania majoring in Engineering and Business. He served in the U.S. Army. Mr. Lee was a "Renaissance Man" who presented a multi-faceted talent to the world. He turned his hand to many things and rarely failed. He was a premier fly-tier; successful builder-developer; excellent rifle shot and fly-fisherman; safari outfitter and PH in Africa; designer and manufacturer of a multitude of outdoor equipment, fine luggage and clothing; a patron of the arts; a merchandiser and marketing wiz; an author of many books; an explorer and natural scientist with museum accreditation; a classic car and antique gun collector nonpareil. During his life, his inquisitive nature, keen intelligence and sense of fearless daring carried him ever further, pushing back horizons and challenging the new or unthinkable. At age fourteen, Bob Lee designed a unique telescopic sighting, called the Lee Mount and at age seventeen designed and manufactured a range of several ultra-high-velocity rifle cartridges. Lee was one of the first Americans to have a hunting concession in Africa (Lee Expeditions, Ltd.) and the first PH to open Portuguese Angola to foreign hunters. He was a conservationist long before it became fashionable. While living in Angola in 1960s, he was instrumental in obtaining government protection for lion, cheetah, black rhino and their habitats. He designed the first ecologically sound wildlife management program in Africa with the then Portuguese Provincial government (Angola) to counteract the decimation of the big-game population by over-hunting and poaching. The result: there was more game there when he left than when he arrived! This was a cause Mr. Lee championed around the world during his lifetime. In 1965, with the outbreak of the Angolan civil war, Lee returned to New York and founded Hunting World, a luggage, leather goods, outdoor clothing and sporting specialties company. His products were designed to his exacting specifications and mercilessly field- tested. He developed a nearly indestructible lightweight material called "Battue". Between 1980 and 1984, after six years of negotiations with the government of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Lee became the first Westerner to gain access to and lead three scientific expeditions into the rugged Tien Shan mountains and Chinese Pamirs - known as "The Roof of the World" - where he rediscovered the fabled Marco Polo sheep, Ovis ammon poli, on Chinese soil and documented their migration. He was successful in convincing the Xinjiang (Shin-jiang) Provincial government to institute protection for many of its wonderful species and his reports were responsible for the creation of the Tashgorgan Wildlife Reserve in the Pamirs. These expeditions and conservation achievements are memorialized in his 2nd book, China Safari (1988). Bob Lee was a Fellow of Exploration in The Explorers Club, a member of the Boone & Crockett Club founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, a Life Member of the National Rifle Association, a member of the Visiting Committee of the Arms and Armor Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a research associate in Mammalogy, Museum of Natural History, at the University of Kansas, and an Affiliate Professor of Management at The University of Montana, where he lectured graduate students on the problems involved in saving our ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest, clear-cutting and lack of regrowth in the Rocky Mountain states and the responsibilities of business and industry with respect to the environment. In 1988, Lee created an endowment for graduate studies in wildlife management at The University of Montana. His gift was the largest single donation ever received and resulted in three scientific expeditions to the Qinghai (Ching-Hy) Province of China, on the Tibetan Plateau, to study increased population management for wild yak and musk deer. In 1999, Lee was presented with the C.J. McElroy Award from Safari Club International for his contributions to hunting and conservation. The Robert M. Lee Foundation has awarded large sums to various conservation organizations. In 1991, he funded the endowment of the Robert M. Lee Gallery of American Arms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mr. Lee was a collector of antique Colts, Winchesters, European Arms and Armor and Modern Sporting guns, selections of which are featured in his book series, The Art of the Gun (2002-2003) and Magnificent Colts (2011). An Exhibition of his many Collections was held at Sotheby's New York in June 2013. An avid car collector, Lee won the coveted "Best of Show" award at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the world's premier automobile competition, in 2006 and 2009; "Best of Show" at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, in 2006 and 2012; and "Best of Show" at Amelia Island Concours in 2014. Online condolences may be shared at: waltonsfuneralhomes.com.