Gary Allen Lee

Sept. 23, 1936-Jan. 27, 2020

Gary Allen Lee, 83,

Bismarck, formerly of

Minot, died January 27,

2020, with his family by

his side. A memorial ser-

vice will be held at 1:30

p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at

Eastgate Funeral Home,

2302 E Divide Ave,

Bismarck.

Interment will be held

at 3:00 p.m. at the North

Dakota Veterans

Cemetery, Mandan.

Gary was born on Sep-

tember 23, 1936 in Long

Prairie, Minnesota to

George and Audrey (Ros-

dahl) Lee. He grew up

and attended school in

Long Prairie, Minnesota

and was the head pin

setter at the bowling alley

operated by his parents.

The family moved to

Riverdale, North Dakota

in 1953 and Gary graduat-ed from Riverdale High

School in 1955. Following

graduation, Gary entered

the US Navy in Sep-

tember 1955. He was a

member of the crew that

put the USS Ranger into

service in 1957, and the

ship had to travel around

the southern tip of South

America because the ship

was too large to pass

through the Panama Ca-

nal. He also served on the

USS Kennebec and the

USS Nimitz.

Gary married Betty Lee

Mills on April 5, 1958, in

Sophia, West Virginia.

They made their home at

various US Naval bases

throughout the world in-

cluding bases in Virginia,

California, Hawaii, Guam

and Spain. He retired

from the US Navy in 1975

with 20 years of service as

Petty Officer 1st Class.

Gary and his family set-

tled in Minot in early

1976, where Gary worked

in finance for the US Air

Force until his retirement

in 1996 with 20 years of

civil service.

Gary and Betty faithful-ly attended Southside

Church of the Nazarene in

Minot, where they fre-

quently volunteered. Gary

was also actively involved

in the Minot chapter of

the National Association

of Retired Federal Em-

ployees (NARFE). Gary

enjoyed spending time

with his family, especially

during holidays and spe-

cial occasions. He was the

official griller during sum-

mer events and his family

learned to enjoy their

hamburgers and hotdogs

very well done. He also

had a great deal of pride

in his yard and worked

tirelessly to ensure that it

always looked good. Gary

was active in league bowl-

ing, enjoyed bowling with

his family, and golfed reg-

ularly, a pastime passed

on to him from his

parents. Gary was also an

annual fixture at the

North Dakota State Fair,

taking vacation leave and

attending the event most

days every year. He also

liked working on his com-

puter, putting together

financial information for

himself and his organiza-

tions, as well as making

banners for family events

and labels for everything.

Gary and Betty had been

married for 57 years when

Betty passed away in

2015. They loved each

other very much and it

showed in the many ways

they helped each other at

home, went practically

everywhere together and

still held hands when out

and about.

Gary is survived by

daughters Karen (Paul)

Prout, Williston, and Lin-

da (Cliff) Betterley,

Bismarck; grandson Caleb

Prout, Williston; and sis-

ter Kim (Darrin Frohlich)

Lee, Bismarck.

He was preceded in

death by his wife Betty,

his parents and his broth-

er George (Bud) Lee.

In lieu of flowers, the

family prefers memorials

to the North Dakota

Veterans Cemetery Foun-

dation, 1825 46th Street,

Mandan, ND 58554.

To share memories of

Gary and to sign the on-

line guestbook, go to