W. Burch Lee

William Burch Lee, Sr.
Louisiana State Representative for Webster Parish
In office 1914–1916
Preceded by	Robert Roberts, Jr.
Succeeded by	James Peter Kent
Personal details
Born	August 27, 1883 Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana, USA
Died	February 1, 1938 (aged 54) Shreveport, Caddo Parish
Resting place	Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Irene Drake Lee
Children	W. Burch Lee, Jr. Drake Lee Elizabeth Lee Ewig
Alma mater	Tyler Commercial College in Tyler, Texas Louisiana State University
Occupation	Businessman Public official
Religion	Southern Baptist

William Burch Lee, Sr. (August 27, 1883 – February 1, 1938), was a businessman and public official from Minden, New Orleans, and Shreveport, Louisiana.^[1]

Lee was born in Farmerville in Union Parish in North Louisiana to John Martin Lee, Jr. (1850–1909),^[2] and the former Vada Burch. Lee, his brother, and two sisters were reared in Monroe in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana, where he attended public schools. He studied at Tyler Commercial College in Tyler, Texas and in 1906 received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University in the capital city of Baton Rouge^[3] and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He worked briefly for the Southern Pacific Railroad in New Orleans,^[1] where his father was employed until his death.^[2]

In 1908, he moved to Minden, where within two years he was a vice-president of the Minden Building and Loan Association, with subsequent Mayors Abner Drake Turner as president and J. Berry Sandefur as a director.^[4] In 1914, he was elected^[1] to complete the term of State Representative Robert Roberts, Jr., who had earlier been a mayor of both Farmerville and Minden. After six years, Roberts left the legislature as the representative for Webster Parish to accept a judicial appointment from Governor Luther E. Hall.^[5] In 1916, with his legislative term ended, Lee returned to New Orleans to become collector of customs. Soon he was appointed secretary to U.S. Senator Robert F. Broussard of Louisiana. That assignment was short-lived for Broussard died in office on April 12, 1918, after only thirty-seven months in the office. Lee then took his terminal position as clerk of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, based in Shreveport and under the purview of Judges George W. Jack and Benjamin C. Dawkins, Sr.^[1]

Lee wed the former Irene Drake (1888–1957),^[6] a member of a prominent Minden family. The couple had two sons, W. B. Lee, Jr. (1911–1969), and Drake Lee, who is not listed as a survivor in his brother's 1969 obituary, and a daughter, Elizabeth Lee Ewig (1918–1973).^[7] Lee's brother, Captain Wood Lee, died in the Spanish–American War in 1898.^[2]

Lee was a Southern Baptist and a member of the Masonic lodge. He died early in 1938 at the age of fifty-four in a Shreveport sanitarium after an illness of one week. He is interred with his wife and daughter at Forest Park East Cemetery in Shreveport.^[1] Burch Lee, Jr., was a journalist formerly with The Shreveport Times, the defunct Houston Post, and with the San Antonio Express-News at the time of his death at the age of fifty-eight. He fought in World War II under General George S. Patton, Jr., and is interred at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.^[8]

A namesake grandson, W. Burch Lee, III, was living in 1969 in Heidelberg, Germany.^[8]

References

1. "W. Burch Lee Funeral Here in Afternoon: Former Clerk of Federal Court Expires After Week of Illness". The Shreveport Times through findagrave.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
2. "The Funeral of J. M. Lee, Jr.". Monroe News-Star. October 4, 1909. p. 2. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
3. Class of 1906. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Catalogue of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College. 1909. p. 276. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
4. Report of the State Banking Department of Louisiana for the Years 1910 and 1911, Vol. 9. New Orleans, Louisiana: Brandad Publishing Company. 1912. p. 510. Retrieved March 21, 2015. line feed character in |title= at position 81 (help)
5. Henry E. Chambers, "Robert Roberts, Jr.", A History of Louisiana, Vol. 2 (Chicago and New York City, American Historical Society, Inc., 1925), pp. 21–22
6. "Irene Drake Lee". findagrave.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
7. "Elizabeth Lee Ewig". findagrave.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
8. "W. Burch Lee, Former Local Resident, Dies". findagrave.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.