Jakie H. Lee

Jakie H. Lee, age 85, a longtime resident of Hilton Head Island and later Bluffton SC, died on August 5, 2025.

Born in Georgetown SC on September 17, 1939, to Edith and Hoyt Lee. Jake went to Winyah High School where he played baseball, ran track, was Captain of his football team and class President.  He majored in architecture at Clemson University where he received several scholarships and was a member of several Honor Societies, graduating as a Brigade Staff Officer, Army ROTC, and received Distinguished Military Student and Graduate recognitions.

Jake was commissioned as a Captain in the Army following Clemson, fulfilling his active duty in Fort Sill, OK. Military Service meant a great deal to him and he briefly considered making the military his career.

After brief tutelage under Joe Hiller, architect in Greenville, Jake moved his family to Hilton Head Island in 1968 to continue his career as an architect with Corken & Wiggins Architects. He, along with several of his classmates and colleagues, under the influence of Charles Fraser, defined the “Hilton Head style of architecture”, as recognized nationally in the ‘60s and ‘70’s. The design excellence of Jakes body of work and his commitment to environmental sensitivity and understated elegance has resulted in numerous national and regional awards, while influencing many young architects along the way.

Jake was never one to approach anything halfway, he was a prolific runner in his day and took pride in running in local marathons, even qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon. Locals were accustomed to seeing him running throughout Sea Pines, sometimes dodging him in the dark when he was running, after a marathon workday in the office. He was a man of few words unless he was talking about Clemson athletics or one of his projects and was always quick to throw in some funny dry comments, including some of his great one-liners! The Colleton River residence is the first and only home that he ever designed for himself and Beth.  He learned to love the river as much as he loved the beach on Hilton Head.

Jake was a loving and compassionate husband and father. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth (Beth) Lee, his daughter Marissa Swartz and her husband Jim, his daughter Laurie Lee, his stepdaughter Elizabeth (Missy) Hill and her husband Whit and daughter Katie, and stepson Christian Winters and his wife Jordan and daughters Merrick and Bryn.

A celebration of life will be Saturday, August 16, 2025 at 10:00 am at the First Presbyterian Church, 540 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the “Jakie Lee Memorial Scholarship in Architecture” at Clemson University.

The direct link is: http://qrco.de/bgD3G6

You may leave a personal message on Sauls Funeral Home’s Tribute Wall for Jake.

Jakie Lee Memorial Scholarship in Architecture
Web: http://qrco.de/bgD3G6