Adrian I. Lee, columnist

Posted 6/22/11

Adrian I. Lee, 90, formerly of Chestnut Hill, a columnist for Philadelphia newspapers, died June 15 of a respiratory infection at Cathedral Village, Andorra. Mr. Lee had been a columnist for the …

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Adrian I. Lee, columnist

Posted

Adrian I. Lee, 90, formerly of Chestnut Hill, a columnist for Philadelphia newspapers, died June 15 of a respiratory infection at Cathedral Village, Andorra.

Mr. Lee had been a columnist for the Evening Bulletin for many years, starting at the paper in 1948 as a general assignment and police reporter and later serving as a rewrite man, national reporter and editorial writer. When the Bulletin closed in 1982, he became a columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News.

For his coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas for the Bulletin, he was presented with a best-writing award from the Philadelphia Press Association.

A political conservative, Mr. Lee had been a confidante of Mayor Frank L. Rizzo and a friend of President Richard Nixon. In 1988 he was a speechwriter for Attorney General Edwin G. Meese.

Mr. Lee and his wife, Marie, raised a family in Chestnut Hill, lived for a time in Flourtown and moved to Cathedral Village four years ago.

Raised in Miami, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Greek from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala.

During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific theater on landing craft that provided fire support for amphibious landings.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Lee is survived by sons Andy, Tom and Owen; daughters Ann Hughes, Louisa Viele and Katie, and seven grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was celebrated on June 20 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Andorra. Interment was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Autism Research Institute, 4182 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116 – WF

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