Dr. Lee was born on February 18, 1931 in Shanghai, China. As a child he lived through World War II and the civil war between Nationalists and Communists. At eighteen he left China to attend Manhattan College, earning a bachelor's degree, and then the University of Illinois, earning his master's degree in electrical engineering. In 1953 he went to Taiwan and volunteered in the Air Force. Later, he joined the Taiwan Power Company and participated in Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program, receiving training in nuclear science at Argonne and Oak Ridge National Labs. Returning to Taiwan in 1959, he helped build the first research nuclear reactor there. He met and married Dora. They had a daughter, Nancy, in 1961 and a son, Mark, in 1964.

In 1964 he returned to the US to complete a PhD. in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined Con Edison in New York City. Over a 25 year career he rose to become Chief Nuclear Engineer and General Manager of its Indian Point power plant. He and Dora moved to San Antonio in 2004. Dr. Lee is a founding member of the One China Committee.

Dr. Lee passed away on September 13, 2011.