Mr. William J. Lee, Jr., formerly of Niskayuna, NY,  passed away on Friday, October 31st, at the Kingsway Manor Nursing Home, where he lived for nearly a year. He was 88 years old.

Mr. Lee was born in Winchester, Mass., the son of Irish immigrants from County Galway in Ireland. He attended Mission Hill High School in Roxbury, Mass., and worked for several years at the Boston Public Library to support his younger brother and sister while they finished high school. He enrolled in the United States Naval Reserve on October 27, 1954. He matriculated at Harvard University, but during what would have been his senior year, he was deployed from October 1961 to August 1962 as a sonarman on the destroyer the USS Miller during the Berlin Wall Crisis.

He returned to Cambridge, Mass., and graduated with an A.B. Degree from Harvard College in Architectural Sciences -- City Planning in 1963. He married Christine Chandler Jones on June 15, 1963, whom he met while both were working at Widener Library at Harvard. The couple moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after a honeymoon at Christine's parents' summer home in Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard. Mr. Lee completed course requirements for a Master of Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1965.

Mr. Lee joined the New York State Department of Transportation under Nelson Rockefeller in 1965 and moved to Schenectady, NY. He served the State of New York for 31 years, retiring in 1996. He held various assignments as an urban planner and transportation analyst in the Planning Division, including Head, Data Services Section (1973-1981); Head, Upstate Metropolitan Planning (1981 to 1988);  Head, Downstate Metropolitan Planning (1988 to 1990); and Principal Transportation Analyst, Policy Development Group (1990-1996). He was a member of the American Planning Association since 1965 and the American Institute of Planners since 1972. He served as President of the New York Upstate Chapter, 1983-1985; as Legislation Committee Chairman, 1972-1983, and Executive Committee Member at Large, 1981-1987.

Mr. Lee was an avid birder and longtime member of the Hudson Mohawk Bird Club (president 1977-1979). He served as the HMBC delegate to the New York State Ornithological Association for over 20 years, acting as president of NYSOA from 1993-1994. In retirement, he led a Thursday morning birding group to hot spots in the Capital District, as well as many field trips. He travelled throughout the United States, as well as to Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dry Tortugas, and the Rio Negro in Brazil in pursuit of life birds. He was a connoisseur of jazz and looked forward to jazz festivals at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Lake George every summer. He attended Jazz on Jay in downtown Schenectady and the Schenectady Community College Jazz Ensemble Concerts as well as faculty concerts at Skidmore College. He had an extensive jazz record and CD collection.

Mr. Lee moved to Niskayuna in 1968 and was a longtime advocate for conservation and the environment in Niskayuna. He joined the Niskayuna Town Conservation Advisory Council in 1978 and went on to chair it until his retirement in 2019.

Mr. Lee is survived by his wife, Christine Jones Lee;  a brother,  Edward P. Lee (Susan) of Grafton, Mass.; two children, Allison Blackwell Lee (William John Good) of Schenectady; and Jonathan Chipman Lee (Laurie) of Austin, Texas; a granddaughter, Evelyn Blackwell Lee of Austin, Texas; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by a sister, Mary Jacobson.  Donations may be made in  his honor to the Nature Conservancy or the Trustees of Reservations, Massachusetts. Calling hours are Saturday, November 15th, 1:00 - 4:00 pm at the Gleason Funeral Home at 730 Union Street, Schenectady, New York.