Lee, William Maurice (Bill) Date of death: March 18, 2011 The Lee family sadly announces that Bill passed away peacefully on Friday, March 18, 2011, in Ottawa after having lived 86 years to the fullest. He was born in Hamilton, ON, on June 14, 1924. Bill is survived by Annie Charlotte (“Chatty”) Lee (nee McUtchen), his cherished wife of 63 years who was his constant companion since she was 14 and Bill was 17; his wonderful sister, Shirley Wands (Bill) of Burlington, ON; and his four children: Craig Lee (Diane Gorman), Cathy Lee (Barry Clyne), Candy Warren (Charlie) and Randy Lee (Julie Paquette). Bill enjoyed a unique and special bond with each of his 11 grandchildren: James Warren; Eric-Michel, Ariane, Julien and Camille Lee; Cory, Chelsea and Kevin Warren; and Damon, Brandon and Kristen Lee. He took great pride in all their accomplishments. Bill had three highly successful careers: the military, politics and business. He was a bon-vivant and a brilliant character with a few eccentricities. A life-long Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan, he was famous for his “boyish good looks”; daily summer attire almost exclusively of white sport shirts and white terry-cloth shorts; great family BBQs; his generosity to friends and family; and his taste for good wines and single-malt Scotches. In the RCAF during WW II, Bill was a navigator with RAF Ferry Command and flew countless times across the Atlantic and in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India and Australia. After WWII, Bill was the RCAF public relations officer at Trenton, then head of RCAF (Europe) public relations in Metz, France, and later the head of RCAF public relations in Ottawa. He was seconded to lead communications for the Royal Tour of Prince Phillip and the Canadian tour of US President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Bill retired from the RCAF as a Group Captain (Colonel) at 39 years of age to become Executive Assistant to Defence Minister Paul Hellyer. He managed Mr. Hellyer’s campaign for the Liberal Party leadership and, when Pierre Trudeau won, he managed Prime Minister Trudeau’s successful election campaign tour of 1968, and was a force behind “Trudeau-mania”. Don Peacock, in his book “Journey to Power”, called Bill “one of the most skilled and professional political organizers in Canada.” Judy LaMarshe, in her book “Memoires of a Bird in a Guilded Cage”, called Bill “the best of the back-room boys.” Peter Dempson, in his book “Assignment Ottawa”, referred to Bill as “a boyish-looking man with a keen mind and a quick wit”. Martin Sullivan, in his book “Mandate ‘68”, called Bill “a man of great charm and awesome efficiency.” Greg Weston, in his book “Reign of Error”, described him as “a veteran political analyst … who knew more names and faces in the powerhouse backrooms of the capital than most who occupied elected office.” Bill founded, with William (Bill) Neville, Executive Consultants Limited, the first (and highly successful) government-relations company in Ottawa. He was founding Vice-chairman of the Public Policy Forum. Bill gave back to the community in so many ways, including through donations and as Campaign Chair and President of the United Way of Ottawa-Carleton. Bill was on the board of the Salvation Army Grace Hospital. The family thanks the following outstanding people for their kind and compassionate care during the last four months of Bill’s life: the professional staff at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, especially Dr. Cathy Williams and Ingrid Pels, RN; and the management and professional staff at Forest Hill. At his request, Bill was cremated. A celebration of his life will take place in late spring. In lieu of flowers, Bill suggested a donation to Roger’s House (www.rogershouse.ca) or the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (www.cheo.on.ca) .