John Joseph Lee, Jr.74, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 20, 2017 at Sullivan County Nursing Home in Unity, NH of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

John was born March 14, 1942 in Baltimore, MD, the first child of the late John and Virginia Lee. He was raised in Valley Stream, NY, and attended New York School of Design in NYC before serving in the military.

He spent two years in the Army during the Vietnam War, stationed in Stuttgart Germany where he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his work as Chief Illustrator for the Seventh Army Visual Aids Center at Seventh Army Headquarters providing materials for top generals. He was honorably discharged as an E-4 Army Specialist in June 1966.

He then began working for IBM in their World Trade Division as a graphics designer in Manhattan and then Tarrytown, NY for more than 25 years. During this time, he had two children and raised his family in West Caldwell, NJ.

Photography was one of John's great passions and, even though John started as a hobbyist, he eventually turned this into a side career and then his full-time profession. He started covering rock-and-roll concerts including some of the first U.S. shows for The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. This passion extended into auto racing, where he covered both Grand Prix and Formula One events. He further expanded his music credentials covering country and bluegrass music. John had multiple magazine and album covers for Bluegrass Unlimited, Country Music Magazine, and Guitar Player magazines and of artists like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and Bill Monroe. Through his photography, he also made a personal connection with many of the country and rock artists who he kept in regular touch with over the years.

John was also an avid musician in his own right, playing banjo, drums, guitar, bass and mandolin among others. He played in the Pine Mountain Brothers, a bluegrass band in his home town of Valley Stream, NY.

When John made photography his primary career, he moved to Nashville, TN. There he spent more than 15 years -- covering the Country Music Awards, Grand Ole Opry and Fanfare, and made many new friends there.

John moved to New Hampshire in 2011 to be closer to family. He lived at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community in West Lebanon for five years, where he developed many new friendships.

John loved traveling, mostly throughout the Western U.S. to places like Montana and Colorado, but also in Europe throughout Germany, France and Switzerland while in the military. He often combined his passion for photography with these trips.

John is survived by his two children, Jack Lee and his wife Katie of Hanover, NH; his daughter Mary and her husband Bill Devlin of Bridgewater, MA; his three grandchildren, Maggie and Maeve Lee and Meggie Devlin; his sister Gina Lee of West Hartford, VT; and brother Terry Lee of Richmond, VA.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his memory to the Alzheimer's Association. A memorial service will be held at St. Denis Catholic Church, Hanover NH at 11am on Saturday, January 28th, 2017.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.