Freddie Dale Lee started his journey Feb. 27, 1942. He reached his final destination Oct. 2, 2016, in Wenatchee at the age of 74.
Freddie was born at the height of WWII and the Korean War was going on during his teen years, so he knew what it was like to love his country like many people raised during war time. Freddie was extremely patriotic and spent time in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Freddie was also a member of the National Maritime Union and worked as a union pipe fitter for Brown & Root in a chemical plant.
In later years, Freddie needed all the experience he could muster, as he worked head of security for some of the different casinos in Las Vegas, and when Freddie wasn’t working he was an avid fisherman. After moving to Washington, he joined the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In short, he was a man’s man who never lacked for toughness or was at a loss for words. Freddie loved a good joke, a big cigar and a shot or two of cognac. But there was another side to Freddie, one that wrote poetry and loved to read and study the Bible.
Life is a road trip. Sometimes it’s the road you’re traveling that decides just how smooth life goes and at other times it depends on who’s riding shotgun. But whether it’s as smooth as a midnight run through the Mojave Desert with nothing but the twinkling lights of Las Vegas in the distance to guide you, or has many ups and downs like a jaunt through the Cascades, there’s only one truth: life isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey and the people you meet along the way. Freddie knew that and man did he have himself one helluva road trip. Along the way he lived, he laughed and he loved as evidenced by the people left behind, who will love and remember him.
He is preceded in death by his mother Lucille Horton Lee, his father Eddie Ora Lee and his INFAMOUS uncle Bud Horton. He is survived by two daughters, Shana Lyne Lee and Lorie Ane Lee; son Brandon Dale Lee and stepson Todd Pritchertt; and special friends Norma Balthazor, Christy Paul, John Hughes — the Scotts Man, Linda Wilson and daughter Julie, Don and Barbara Ford, and the gang at Hank’s.
