[Leica] John W. Lee

[Tsun Tam]

Condolences to his family and friend. John had been a good friendto both Jim Lager and me. My last eMail from him was datedAugust 12. John had forwarded a message regarding "Create,powered by PhotoPlus." I believe around that time, we hadchatted via phone, though most of our "conversations" had beenvia text or eMail.
Recollection of my first meeting John was when he invited meto attend one of the Lug meetings at the Center for Photography.My friends, Sal DiMarco, Ralph Hagenauer (from Leitz Wetzlar),Dr. Zafar Khan and Dr. Stuart Fink (from NYU). Sadly,dear Sal and Stuart are no longer among us and Ralph had sincemoved back to Germany and has retired from Leica. Zafarretired and move to Florida.

My surviving and oldest Leica friends are Jim (since 1970 welive in the same town and we both worked at Leitz NY/USA) and 
Pong Promadhat (since 1967 and had moved back to Thailandin 1992). Sadly my best Leica friends, Otto Schmidt andVincent (Uncle Vince) Fochtman, both managers at Leitz, USAalso had passed. Who are left: Sherry Krauter whom I met when she 
first joined Leitz Rockleigh in the late 1960s/early 1970s (Otto 
once told me that Sherry was his BEST technician and Ottohad started her working on the Leicaflex cameras - both Sherry 
and I love Otto!), Ernst Hartmann (I met Ernst in the late 1960swhen Otto brought him over from Wetzlar when we were stillat 304 Hudson Street, NYC where Leitz' service department waslocated - that was a wonderful place; in the back was a hugefactory but at the time no longer produced anything) and Urich 
(Urly) Fuchs (Leicaflex technician). 

I remember John and I were at Jim Lager's house on a holidaycelebration, maybe 15 years ago. We met there numerous times
in Jim's basement "bunker."

The last time I met John was in Westwood after we had been toBergen County Camera. After that, we had a leisurely mealwith Dr. Lew Rothman at a local Irish pub about a block awayfrom BCC. 

We always had good times together with John. He will be sorely 
missed! RIP, old buddy!
Sorry for this long message, but with John's passing, it broughtback wonderful memories of the Leica, of Leitz New York/USAand most important of my dear friends from the old firm. Icherished each day I worked there and between Jim and me, 
we could probably write several volumes of our experiences 
with E. Leitz, NY/USA - the hardware, the production facilities,AND the friends. Yes, there WERE a few "characters" there but 
they were very NICE!

Tsun