Cleric.
Born at Winnipeg on 20 June 1931 to Miriam Elizabeth Struthers (1911-1965) and William Samuel Lee (1900-1989), he grew up at Lady Lake, Saskatchewan and Gilbert Plains. He and his older brother were active members of the Town Band at Gilbert Plains. Music and especially the participation in the band were formative experiences in his early life. His adventurous spirit was evident at a young age when, at 14, he left home during the summer months to work at various camps in the Lake of the Woods area, including a position as Boatman for Anglican Island Summer Camp. His love of the railway steered him towards a position for a time as a porter with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
He left Gilbert Plains to attend the University of Manitoba, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953. During his time as a university student, he spent a year in the Canadian Officers Training Corp (COTC), including a summer in Calgary, Alberta. He then taught at Arden School for a year, deciding to return to St. John's College to study Theology. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Anglican Church on St. Matthew's Day in 1956, and then as a priest on St. John the Baptist's Day in 1957. He served the Interlake Parishes from 1955 to 1959. He served as Rector at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church until 1967, and at St. Mary's la Prairie at Portage la Prairie until 1975. While at Portage la Prairie, he helped to establish programs for seniors and a band program for school children. In 1973 he was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award for his contributions to that community.
From 1975 to 1984, he was Dean of Cariboo and Rector of St. Paul's Cathedral at Kamloops, British Columbia. In honour of his accomplishments in the Church and the community, St. John's College bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1978.
In 1958, he married Mary Elizabeth Thornton, with whom he went on to have four daughters. In 1984, he and his wife took on roles in Uganda helping people in the Diocese of West Buganda, where he was the Dean of a training unit and conducted seminars for clergy and parish leaders. There were times when the couple were in serious danger, due to the turbulence in the country following Idi Amin’s regime. Nevertheless, he wrote and self-published a book about his experiences there, called Safari in Faith: Bats in the Attic, Cockroaches in the Kitchen. While in Uganda, he was made an honorary member of the Monkey Clan (Ngeye—one of the 52 clans that form the Buganda Kingdom) and was always proud of his Ugandan name, “Kiggundu.”
Returning to Manitoba in 1990, he served as Executive Archdeacon for the Diocese of Rupert's Land, and then was elected Bishop of Rupert’s Land and consecrated in 1994. His consecration ceremony was held at the St. Boniface Cathedral, a special connection for him, as he had maintained close relationships with the Roman Catholic Church throughout his ministry. He retired in November 1999. In 2005, he and his wife moved from Winnipeg to Perth, Ontario to be closer to their youngest grandson.
He died at Perth, Ontario, on 26 September 2010 and was buried in the St. John’s Anglican Cathedral Cemetery.
“A bridge builder and a very steady hand,” Anglican Journal, 30 September 2010.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 October 2010.
“Patrick Vaughan Lee,” Wray Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 5 November 2025
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