Lee Heusinger - about 2010
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| Lee with his older brother, Edward |
Lee Herbert Heusinger was born October 24, 1946, in Buffalo, New York, the son of Edward and Florence Heusinger. Lee grew up in Boston, New York, a rural town south of Buffalo, where his family lived on Chestnut Ridge Road. When Lee was six, his family lived in Germany for about a year and later they lived in Chicago, both times returning to the family home in Boston. As a youth, one of his passions was baseball, which he played about ten years with the Boston Town team and at the AA level. Lee's dream was to play on a major league team.
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| Lee's Baseball Playing Days |
Lee attended elementary school in Orchard Park, New York, a Town neighboring Boston, and he continued there in high school, with the exception of his junior year, which was spent in Chicago. Lee graduated from high school in 1964. After high school he attended Erie County Community College for one year, before transferring to Colorado State University. He studied at Colorado State for two years, until he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Viet Nam war. Lee was stationed in Korea, where he taught school. Lee finished his education at the University of Buffalo, earning a degree in Business Management.
After discharge from the Army, Lee worked for Great Lakes Dredging on Lake Ontario. On December 1, 1973, Lee married Susan Faulring, and they settled in Boston. At the same time, Lee began working for Pro Pipe in Orchard Park. In 1977 he was hired by Ryerson Steel, a company he remained with for 35 years. Initially, Lee was a night foreman in their Buffalo plant. Subsequently, he was transferred to Chicago, in sales, next to Chattanooga and then Philadelphia. His last years with Ryerson were spent as a General Manager of plants in China and Mexico. His last assignment, in Mexico, was interrupted by open-heart surgery, followed by convalescence in Chattanooga, with his family. After one more year in Mexico, Lee retired. In retirement, however, he did consulting work for Ryerson in China and Mexico, on and off for about 6 years.
Lee was dedicated to his family. He and Susan have three loving children, Kara, Molly and Eric; and two beautiful granddaughters, Brianna and Amiya. In retirement, Lee enjoyed a good round of golf and never missed an opportunity to join family, friends or colleagues on the course.
Lee died suddenly on May 5, 2014 of a heart attack. His life and love of family are beautifully captured in a tribute posted by his son, Eric, on Face book.
