Obituary of Frederick W. Lee, Jr.

Frederick W. Lee Jr. (April 20, 1935 - November 5, 2023) A local visionary and fixture of the Mohawk Valley area has passed. Frederick W. Lee Jr. was born in Middlefield, NY, on April 20, 1935 to Fred Lee Sr. and Elizabeth Morton Lee. Fred served in the United States Army after attending Oswego State Teaching College. He then met and married Carole A. Sturgess-Polulech Lee (1938-2004) on Nov. 22, 1958 at the United Methodist Church in Cooperstown. They would go on to have two children, Janet and Mark. Fred married Sylvia Crosby in March 2005, creating a large and loving blended family. He and Carole together founded Lee Newspapers Inc. in 1964 out of the company’s current offices in Palatine Bridge. Fred would steer the company through tremendous growth – expanding across the decades from the original Mohawk Valley Pennysaver and the regional edition of Country Folks farm newspaper to a wide-ranging family of community newspapers and local resources, trade publications and trade show events that reached everyone from the local community to across the greater U.S. Lee Newspapers was far from his only business venture throughout the years. His entrepreneurial spirit started when he was a child, and he was involved with many other projects throughout the years. One of the most notable ventures was the 2017 purchase of the original Spraker Bank building in Canajoharie, NY, and the establishment of a Christmas shop which has evolved into Lee’s Shops at Wagner Square, a local fixture and tourism draw. Fred’s presence was strongly felt in the region, where he was an active figure his entire life. He loved the valley and the people he served, pouring his standards for excellence into the local papers and pennysaver. For many years, he enjoyed connecting with the public through his editor’s notes in each issue within his column, Hello Again. Outside of being a publisher, he was a devoted deacon and trustee for many years at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Ames, NY. He wore many hats throughout his lifetime: son, brother, uncle, husband, father, (great-) grandfather, deacon, trustee, board member, neighbor, church member, employer and entrepreneur. He will be greatly missed. He is preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Carole, his son Mark, his brother Alfred Wesley Lee and his sister Ruth Snyder. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Lee; daughter Janet Stanley and her husband Matt; grandson Travis Button and his husband Josh; granddaughter Brittany Play-Button and her husband Peter; granddaughter Lyndsay Pickel and her husband Dan; granddaughters Darcie Mabie and her husband Brian, and Kristen Lee and her fiancé Mark; and numerous nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren. Step children, Charles Crosby and his wife Sherrie, Casey Crosby and his wife Sonja, Pam Bishop, Joshua Crosby and his wife Becca, and Cara Soto and her husband Jose as well as numerous extended family grandchildren. Services will take place Friday, November 10 from 3 - 7 p.m. at Houghtaling and Smith, 20 Otsego St., Canajoharie, NY; the funeral and burial will be on Saturday, November 11 at 10 a.m. at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Route 10, Ames NY. Donations can be made in his memory to his beloved church, Cornerstone Baptist Church.