Cyrus Lee

Wilson - Cyrus Field Lee, 91, died peacefully on Friday, February 13, 2009. Funeral, Monday, 2:00 PM, First Christian Church. Interment, Maplewood Cemetery. He was born March 6, 1917 in Arapahoe, Pamlico County. He graduated valedictorian from Alliance High School in 1933, and cum laude from Atlantic Christian College in 1939. For five years he was a teacher at Snow Hill High School and Charles L. Coon High School in Wilson, NC. He attended UNC School of Law where he was editor of the Law Review. He was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in August of 1946 and then obtained his Doctor of Law degree from UNC School of Law in June of 1947. He began work with the law firm of Connor, Gardner and Connor in February of 1947 and continued practicing law in Wilson for the next 62 years, finishing his career as a lawyer with the law firm of Newton, Lee and Boyd. In 1955, he was baptized into the Christian faith. During his practice, he served his community and profession in many ways including as a member of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the North Carolina State Bar and being elected to the State Bar Council representing the 7th Judicial District. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gerald and Maud Langston Lee, eight brothers and sisters, and his granddaughter, Hannah Boyette Lee. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Virginia Boyette Lee, and four children: Beatrice Lee Newton and husband, Eldon Sharpe Newton, Jr., of Wilson; Dr. Cyrus Field Lee, Jr, and wife, Linda Viser Lee of Bailey; Rachel Lee Mercer and husband, Lawrence Douglas Mercer, of Beaufort; and James Thomas Lee and wife, Cristall Downs Lee, of Oriental; and ten grandchildren: E. S.