Longtime Moline pastor and SAU grad dies
The Rev. Robert Lee, a 1955 graduate of St. Ambrose University and pastor of Sacred Heart in Moline, died Friday at Trinity Medical Center West, Rock Island. He was 74.
Rev. Lee was active in the community, serving on the boards of Alleman High School and Black Hawk College. He also served on the Lutheran Hospital Board of Directors.
St. Ambrose awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities and the St. Ambrose University Alumni Service Award.
The obituary running in Sunday’s Quad-City Times is as follows:
MOLINE — Fr. Robert Lee, 74, of Moline, died Friday, April 18, 2008, at Trinity Medical Center West, Rock Island, Ill. Private family visitation will be Sunday at DeRoo Funeral Home, Moline. Public visitation will be Sunday, April 20, 2008, 1 to 7 p.m., and Monday, April 21, 2008, 1 to 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Moline.
A parish Mass of Remembrance will be celebrated Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church. A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, April 22, 11:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, with Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C. officiating. Private family committal services will be at St. Mary’s Mausoleum, East Moline. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Seton Catholic School Endowment Fund, c/o Jane Barrett, 1320 16th Avenue, Moline, Ill., 61265.
Rev. Robert Lee was born May 10, 1933, in Alexis Ill., the son of Harold & Anastasia Pittard Lee. He was educated in Alexis and graduated from St. Ambrose University and St. Meinrad Seminary. He was ordained into the priesthood August 2, 1959 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria, Illinois.
In 1959, Father Lee was assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Moline, Illinois. He spent his entire ministry in that city, accumulating 40 years at Sacred Heart Parish and three years as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Moline.
In addition to leading his parish, Father Lee also found time to serve on many boards and commissions. He was a member of the Priest’s Senate in the Peoria Diocese, the Diocesan Consulters and the Diocesan Finance Commission. Fr. Lee was Vicar of the Rock Island Vicariate from 1974 to 1986 and again from 1991 to 1998.
He served on the Board of Education for Alleman High School, the former Sacred Heart School and Seton Catholic School. He also served on the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees and the former Lutheran Hospital Board of Directors.
In 2001, Fr. Lee was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from St. Ambrose University. He also received the St. Ambrose University Alumni Service Award. Father Lee also served on the Moline Commission on Youth Citizens Advisory Board, and the Board of Marriage and Family Counseling Service. In 2002, Fr. Lee was Grand Marshal of the Grand Irish Parade.
Father Lee was instrumental in the consolidation of the Moline Catholic Schools into Seton Catholic School and the building of the new Seton Catholic Middle School. In addition to his role as pastor, Father Lee was considered a leader in the community as well as an educational leader, mentor, servant, and friend to many. He retired in 2001.
Survivors include sisters and brothers in law, Mary Alice and Charles Stewart, Goodyear, Ariz, Nelle Rose and Ashton Blakewell, Galesburg, Ill.; brothers and sisters in law, Larry & Jane Lee Galesburg, Ill., and David & Mary Kay Lee, Moline; several nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Carol Ann, and a brother, James. Online condolences may be sent to deroofuneralhome.com.