DR. JOE LEE

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DR. JOE LEE On February 28, 2002, Dr. Joe Lee died, suddenly but peacefully, at the St. Boniface Hospital, at the age of 61 years. He will be sorely missed by his wife Catherine Lee; his four sons, Gregory, DArcy, David and Matthew; his brother Victor Lee (Jillian) and family; his sister Winnie Lau (Dr. Chosen Lau) and family; his mother-in-law Chris Stewart; and by his many friends, colleagues, students, patients and the hospital community at large. He was predeceased by his loving father and mother Yu Ping and Sam Lee of Edmonton. Joe had a passion for helping others which led him to a career in the field of Medicine. He began his studies at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine and then completed an Anaesthesia residency at UCSF (San Fransico) in the early to mid 1960s. This he did over a period of five years, with his lifelong colleagues, John Wade, Peter Duke, Tino Ethans, Morley Singer, and many others unnamed. Joe became known as a local legend for single-handedly running the San Fransico County Hospital Intensive Care Unit. Known as "Chicken Soup" or "Souper" for short, Joe derived the unusual nickname from his fellow doctors. He had an uncanny knack of pulling the sickest and most complicated patients through their illnesses. When asked by his friends how he managed to do this, he replied, "I just give them a little chicken soup." Upon returning to Winnipeg in 1969, he met his wife Catherine and began his family. The years of balancing a busy medial career and becoming the father of four beautiful sons, gave him immense joy. Since the late 1950s, Joe enjoyed the game of golf at the Southwood Golf and Country Club with friends and family. His chronic slice may not have been curable, but it did not detract from his enjoyment of the game. He had a love for the Canadian game of hockey, whether it was accompanying his sons to countless outdoor hockey games or cheering on the Jets. He was a member of St. Bedes Anglican parish, where he was baptised and confirmed in the faith as an adult, at the time of his oldest sons (Gregory) confirmation in 1987. Joes raison detre and passion in life was to serve others in the capacity of physician, teacher and friend. He had an extraordinary knowledge of, and gift for patient care honed over 40 years, in which he was a pioneer in the field of Multi-system illness and Intensive Care Medicine. His career in Winnipeg was balanced between his appointments in Anaesthesia/ICU at the Health Sciences Centre, and his teaching position at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine. He spent many happy years working alongside his colleague, Dr. Bryan Kirk and the many nurses, doctors, respiratory technicians, aides and orderlies of the seventh floor at HSC. Joes approach to medicine was a team-centred approach, and he considered every single working individual within the hospital to be an important contributor to that team, and a personal friend as well. He upheld the value of all persons and his love for his fellow man gave him the strength to work the long, hard hours that he did, with energy and enthusiasm. The family wishes to thank the 9-11 Call Centre and the Emergency Paramedic Responders who attended him, as well as the ER and MICU staff of the St. Boniface Hospital, Dr. Elani Gionouli, Dr. Mohammed Shamsaw, Dr. Ira Ripstein, Dr. Tony Miller and HSC staff, Dr. John Peachell, Dr. Douglas Craig, Dr. Tino Ethans, Dr. Steve Kowalski, and most notably Dr. Dan Roberts for their loving assistance and care. The family warmly invites all who have been touched in some way by Joe to a service of celebration for his life at St. Johns Anglican Cathedral, 135 Anderson (off of north Main), Winnipeg, at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 5. We graciously decline gifts of flowers and ask for contributions to a memorial in his name, Joe Lee Memorial Fund, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Donations may be sent to the Dept. of Anaesthesia, University of Manitoba, Room LB 315, 60 Pearl St., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 1X2, or Section of Critical Care Medicine, University of Manitoba, Room GE 706, 820 Sherbrook St., Winnipeg, MB, R3A 1R9. Funeral arrangements in the care of: NEIL BARDAL INC. 949-2200

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 04, 2002