Daniel Cooke Lee

Daniel Cooke Lee passed away peacefully in Bluffton, SC on July 12, 2023, at the age of 90, after a 27-year long valiant fight with prostate cancer. Dan did not let cancer slow him down and he faced the diagnosis head on with a positive attitude, eating low on the food chain and exercising at least once a day.

Dan Graduated from SUNY College at Cortland and later from Hofstra University with a Masters in Education and a CAS in Educational Administration. He taught on Long Island, then settled in Ithaca, NY where he helped start and guide the alternative school, East Hill Elementary School. The school was written about in Redweek and Newsweek Magazines. On weekends you could find Dan teaching young children to ski at Greek Peak, and he was instrumental in creating the Snoopy program at Greek Peak where he created the Peanuts characters out of wood for the kids to ski around. Dan could be seen on the slopes of Greek Peak in his 70s passing down the love of skiing to his granddaughters. Dan was a strong believer of the value of children’s play. He brought playgrounds to life while he was principal at Central Elementary School and later went on to work with Kompan and BigToys helping schools and parks add great play spaces.

Dan was a lover of wooden boats and was known for restoring antique boats. Two of those boats still reside on Cayuga Lake: Dowager (1931) and Fledgling (1937), which won Best of Show in the Antique Boat Show in Perth, Ontario. Not only was Dan a craftsman at restoring wooden boats, but he also built a unique home in Ithaca, repurposing gorgeous wood planks for the floors and barn beams throughout the ceiling. He also gutted and renovated a house in downtown Ithaca which won a Neighborhood Housing Award.

Dan lived his life in such a positive manner, never letting anything get him down, (well maybe a Warriors loss in the playoffs) and had a great influence on many.

Surviving Dan is his loving wife of 36 years, Bari J. Lee, daughters Jodi Lee Denman and Jennifer Lee, grandchildren Emma Denman, Ainslie Denman, Jack Breitenstein and Brooke Breitenstein, brother-in-law Norm Shulman, mother-in-law Rhoda Shulman, father-in-law Larry Shulman and his sister Rebecca Taylor.

Something that will forever stay with me is Dad telling me as a child while on a road trip, to make sure I soaked in all the beauty around me. I will never forget that and have instilled this in my children as well. May you all take note of this in your daily lives. - Jodi

In honor of Dan’s wishes, there will be no services. If you would like to make a donation in his honor you may do so at The Prostate Cancer Foundation www.pcf.org or the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY www.abm.org

Prostate Cancer Foundation
Web: http://www.pcf.org

Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY
Web: http://www.abm.org