The Copper Basin Medical Center’s District Board honored Dr. William E. Lee last week. Dr. Lee, 85, has spent a lifetime in service, not only to the community but to the world through his medical mission trips.

The surprise event in the hospital cafeteria began with friends and co-workers singing “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” as Dr. Lee and wife Lorraine came in. Lee commented, “Y’all are going to make me cry.”

Board Chairman Ron O’Neal said the event was designed to pay honor to a man who has spend 53 years in medicine – healing when he could and comforting when he could not. He pointed out that Lee had spent his own resources for trips to foreign countries (there were around 65). The doctor delivered more than 2,000 babies. “He is a man people would be well served to model,” O’Neal said.

He shared some memories of Dr. Lee, such as giving a horse a shot outside the Emergency Room, receiving a load of turnips from a new father who couldn’t afford to pay for his babies’ delivery, and playing practical jokes. “He has served others throughout his life, looking to God, not man, for praise,” O’Neal said. As he presented Lee with a plaque of appreciation, he said the District Board wants to recognize a great physician, former Board member, and outstanding member of the community.

Lee said he accepted the plaque with sincerity and added, “A doctor can’t do everything.” Waving his hand toward those in attendance, he said, “Look at those people that have worked here. Without them I’d be nothing.” Tearfully, he added, “Some have already gone to Heaven. I look forward to seeing them again.” He said he is especially proud of those who operate the free clinics in Blue Ridge and Ellijay. Speaking to the crowd, Lee said, “I can look at your faces and think of things we worked together on. The doctor is nothing; the people he works with deserve the credit, but I’m proud of this.”

His wife commented that when they got married 65 years ago her mother told her, “Wherever Billy goes, when he turns around, you be there.” She added, “He’s led me on a lot of adventures and I’ve been there when he turned around.” She praised the hospital, saying it pulled her through a time when she thought she’d never walk again. “We appreciate it and pray for it every day,” she said.

Lee shared some of his own memories of mission trips, such as the time in the middle of a jungle in Bolivia when a lady who was expecting a baby arrived. He said his family had only been there a week and just had a homemade bed. They fixed a little bed out of a table, his wife held a light, his daughter held a lantern, and the baby arrived. He said this was during a revolution in Bolivia and the woman was the wife of one of the men in a military unit “that we thought was on the wrong side” camped over the mountain from their site.

Lee also recalled the time in China when his wife took a pile of brush from an elderly woman and carried it up a hill for her.

Those on hand for the event included friends, co-workers, hospital personnel, Board members and elected officials. Members of the District Board are O’Neal, Bill Standridge, Beatrice Tallent, Doug Collins, Jack Collins, Wanda Cheek and Cecil Arp.

Lee said he closed his medical office in 1990, then worked for ten years in the emergency room, which made it possible to spend more time on mission work – something he said “I always had on my mind.” When he saw an article in a church bulletin, he contacted them about his interest and began getting information about where he would be needed. He and Lorraine would go for about a month at a time, he said.

As if all that is not enough, Lee has also been involved in other community activities. He was born and raised in McMinn County. During World War II, he served in the Navy and was on the way to Japan just before the surrender, so he was one of the first in the occupation force there. He and Hattie Lorraine Russell were married in 1946. Lee began his medical career as a pharmacist, working at Tallent Drug Store in McCaysville, then went back to medical school to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a doctor. He opened an office in Ducktown in 1958.

His love of country music led to establishment of “First Tuesday” jam sessions.