Gary Allen Lee

Gary Allen Lee passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family on Sunday, July 25, 2021, from complications of metastatic kidney cancer. Gary was diagnosed with this deadly cancer 21 years ago. Despite the odds, he managed the various recurrences of his cancer with surgeries over the years. He was always courageous and optimistic and never complained, despite the sometimes difficult recoveries he endured. He did all this with his loving wife, Paula, by his side every step of the way. This last battle, however, proved too difficult to overcome.

Gary’s kind, gentle, and loving nature is emulated by his children, Marigny and Cullen. He was the best husband and father that anyone could imagine. He and his beloved wife Paula loved and cherished each other for the last 33 years, 26 of those years in a beautiful marriage that they hoped would be longer. Their devotion to each other was clear to all who know them.

Before his retirement from the practice of law, Gary managed a very busy and successful law practice with his law firm, Lee, Futrell, and Perles, for 25 years.

Gary was born in New Orleans on February 19, 1947. He was preceded in death by his loving mother, Gloria Knight (Lee) Ferrera, and his father, Herbert Rivera Lee. He will be tremendously missed by his loving wife Paula Hardy Lee, and his two children, Marigny Burnett Lee and Cullen Harrison Lee, who were a source of constant joy and pride for him. Gary adored his son-in-law, Sébastien Nasra, and his grandchildren, Miro Lee-Nasra and Phénix Lee-Nasra. His grandchildren were a dream come true for him. Gary had so much love for his family, which also includes his two brothers, Stephen Harrison Lee (and his wife Judy), and Clayton Dameron Lee. Steve was Gary and Paula’s rock during each battle with cancer, and they would have been lost without him. Gary also loved his two wonderful nephews, Ryan and Barrett Lee, and their beautiful families. There has been so much love poured out onto Gary, not only from his family, but from all of his wonderful friends and his mother-in-law, Anna Ford. Gary was so grateful for all of your presences in his life, and didn’t know what he did to deserve all the love, but we all know that it was just a mirror of what he gave to us all. “And, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

A celebration of Gary’s life will be held on Sunday, August 1, 2021, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans. Visitation begins at 2:00 p.m. and Service begins at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Gary’s memory to Trinity Episcopal Church, trinitynola.com; Raphael Village, raphaelvillage.org; or Trinity Community Center in Hollygrove, tccno.org.

For those who cannot attend due to CoVid concerns or distance, go to the home page of Trinity Episcopal Church at trinitynola.com and click on “live,” for the livestream of the Service.