OBITUARY #1 – NYT – Monday, November 13, 1933 (p. 14)
DR. BURTON J. LEE DIES AT AGE OF 59
*****
Cancer Specialist Was Head of Malignancy Committee of College of Surgeons
*****
SERVED IN FRANCE IN WAR
*****
Gave Paper on His Subject at Paris in 1931 Before World Congress on Radiology
*****
Dr. Burton James Lee, surgeon and cancer specialist, died yesterday morning at his residence, 155 East Seventy-second Street, of coronary thrombosis. He was 59 years old.
Dr. Lee is survived by his widow, the former Miss Louise Freeman of this city; three children, Burton J. Jr., Frank F. and Louse F. Lee, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark of New Haven, Conn.
The funeral will be held privately tomorrow.
Less than two weeks ago Dr. Lee was elected chairman of the Committee on Malignancy of the American College of Surgeons. He was president of the American Radium Society and had for several years been Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College.
Besides his work in cancer research, Dr. Lee had a distinguished war record. At the time of receiving his commission as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps, he was the youngest consulting surgeon in the American Expeditionary Force.
RECEIVED DECORATIONS FOR SERVICE.
He served in France from Aug. 7, 1917 to Jan. 25, 1919, and was attached to the Second Division with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was decorated with the American Distinguished Service Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
In July, 1931, he returned to attend the International Congress on Radiology in Paris, and there he and his associate, Dr. George T. Pack, also of New York, presented a paper on the scientific and technical aspects of modern treatment of cancer of the breast.
His views on the curability of cancer attracted a good deal of attention last October, when he addressed the American College of Surgeons at St. Louis, Mo.
"Cancer," said Dr. Lee, "is a curable disease. This is a true statement, if the disease is discovered in its early stages. The symptoms of early cancer may appear of little importance to the patient, but their significance is readily appreciated by every good doctor.
"Pain is almost never a symptom of early cancer. The public at large must realize the importance of this statement, for over and over again the patient will say, 'I thought this condition of little importance because it was painless.'
"If each individual in this country 35 years of age or over would make it a rule to have a careful going over every six months, the cancer problem would be largely solved and many lives would be saved every year."
NATIVE OF NEW HAVEN.
Dr. Lee was born at New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 4, 1874, son of James Howard Lee and Susan Mar Hoyt Lee. He studied at Hillhouse High School, New Haven, and was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1894.
He next came to New York and studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, receiving his M.D. degree in 1898.
Dr. Lee was the first to establish a clinic on breast cancer at the Memorial Hospital for Cancer in 1919. His clinic was considered a model and was frequently visited by eminent American and European cancer specialists. He had been director of the clinic since he founded it.
Dr. Lee was also attending surgeon at the Memorial Hospital, associate attending surgeon at the Cornell-New York Hospital, consulting surgeon to the Sharon Hospital, to St. Francis Hospital, to Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital at Middletown, N.Y., and to the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
He wrote several monographs on cancer and tumor of the breast and contributed articles to Annals of Surgery, Keen's Surgery and Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery.
Dr. Lee was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and served on its board of governors. He was secretary of the American Society for Cancer Control, fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and of the American Medical Association.
He was a member of the American Surgical Association and New York Surgical Society; also the Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, the Harvey Society, the Southern Surgical Association, Interurban Surgical Society, Radiological Association and the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Dr. Lee was a member of the University, Yale and Eclat clubs.
********
OBITUARY #2 - Record of Graduates of Yale University - Deceased during the Year 1933 – 1934 || Bulletin of Yale University - New Haven, 15 October 1934
Burton James Lee, Ph.B. 1894.
Born February 4, 1874, in New Haven, Conn. Died November 12, 1933, in New York City.
Father, James Howard Lee; wholesale commission merchant in New Haven; son of Richard and Mary Ann (Howard) Lee, of Colebrook, Devonshire, England. Mother, Susan Mar (Hoyt) Lee, daughter of Nehemiah Hardy and Lucy (Baldwin) Hoyt, of New Haven. Yale relatives include two cousins: Charles W. Hoyt, '94 S., and Rev. Burton H. Lee, '02.
Hillhouse High School. Biology course
M.D. Columbia 1898; interne at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, 1898-1901; had since practiced in New York City with exception of time spent in military service; since 1903 had been a member of the faculty of Cornell University Medical College, as assistant demonstrator in anatomy 1903-04, demonstrator in anatomy 1904-09, instructor in clinical surgery 1909-1913 and in surgical pathology 1913-16, assistant clinical professor of surgery 1916-18, and clinical professor of surgery since 1918; assistant surgeon Trinity Hospital 1900-1912; surgical chief of clinic at Harlem Hospital 1900-04 and at Presbyterian Dispensary 1905-1910; assistant attending surgeon Cornell-New York Hospital 1910-13 and associate attending surgeon 1913-1925; assistant surgeon Bellevue Hospital 1913-17; cancer specialist, attending surgeon, and a director Memorial Hospital for Cancer since 1919; consulting surgeon Sharon Hospital since 1919, Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital (Middletown, N.Y.) since 1928, St. Francis Hospital since 1932, and New York Infirmary for Women and Children since March, 1933; attended Plattsburg Training Camp August and September, 1916.
Commissioned Captain in the Medical Corps June 1, 1917, overseas with AEF in France August 7, 1917 - January 25, 1919; assigned Base Hospital No. 9; on detached service at l'Hôpital d'Océan, La Panne, on surgical service, October 15, 1917 - January 7, 1918; chairman of Transfusion Committee, A.E.F., January 8 - March 13, 1918; consulting surgeon, 2d Division, March-November, in charge of surgery in hospital for seriously wounded; later consulting surgeon, 14th Corps; assistant consulting surgeon, 2d Army; and consulting surgeon, Bazoilles Group of Hospitals; promoted Major June 25, 1918, and Lieutenant Colonel November 11; awarded Distinguished Service Medal and Croix de Guerre; received discharge January 29, 1919.
Contributed to Annals of Surgery, Keens Surgery, Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery; Journal of American Medical Association, American Journal of Surgery, American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Cancer, American Journal of Nursing, Archives of Surgery, Canadian Practitioner, Radiology, and Acta Radiologica; lectured before Connecticut State Medical Society, American Surgical Association, and American College of Surgeons and gave annual Mary Scott Newbold lecture before Philadelphia College of Physicians in March, 1933; president of American Radium Society 1932-33; secretary of American Society for Cancer Control since 1930; chairman of committee on malignancy of American College of Surgeons since October, 1933 (fellow and member of the board of governors); member American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Surgical Society, New York County Surgical Society, Medical Society of Greater New York, Clinical Surgical Association of North America, Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, Radiological Association, Southern Surgical Society, Interurban Surgical Society, and Harvey Society; elected honorary member of Aurelian Honor Society in 1922; Class agent of Alumni Fund in 1916.
Married (1) October 14, 1902, in New York City, Mabel, daughter of Charles James and Mary Elizabeth (Leavenworth) Kershaw, of Tacoma, Wash. Children: Marion Leavenworth (died in childhood); and Burton James, Jr., Yale '29; Mrs. Lee died March 12, 1912.
Married (2) March 29, 1919, in New York City, Louise, daughter of General Frank Morgan Freeman and Julia Bergh (Muller) Freeman. Children: Frank Freeman and Louise Freeman.
Death due to coronary thrombosis. Buried in Freeman Plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City. Survived by wife, daughter, two sons, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark, of New Haven.
Note: Casket & remains moved from Woodlawn to St. John's Memorial Cemetery in Cold Spring Harbor, L.I. by son Frank Freeman Lee in the 1980s.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The following memorial is adapted from the "Daytonian in Manhattan" online blog, published by Tom Miller, June 11 2020:
Dr. Burton James Lee married twice. The wedding to his first wife, Mabel Kershaw, took place in Trinity Church in downtown New York City on October 14, 1902. The Lees suffered grief when their infant daughter, Marion, died on January 16, 1906. And then in March 1912 Marion Kershaw Lee caught pneumonia and died soon thereafter at the age of 35.
Following his return from the war in France, Dr. Lee married Louise Freeman; the wedding took place in St. Bartholomew's Church on March 29, 1919. Like Dr. Lee, Louise had been overseas in France during the war where she worked for the Red Cross. The social status of the couple was evidenced by her bridal attendant, Helen C. Frick, "daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, at whose home Miss Freeman has been stopping," according to The Sun. A year later, on March 19, 1920, the couple welcomed a son, Frank Freeman Lee.
***********
This profile is maintained by Dr. Lee's grandson, Burton H. Lee
DR. BURTON J. LEE DIES AT AGE OF 59
*****
Cancer Specialist Was Head of Malignancy Committee of College of Surgeons
*****
SERVED IN FRANCE IN WAR
*****
Gave Paper on His Subject at Paris in 1931 Before World Congress on Radiology
*****
Dr. Burton James Lee, surgeon and cancer specialist, died yesterday morning at his residence, 155 East Seventy-second Street, of coronary thrombosis. He was 59 years old.
Dr. Lee is survived by his widow, the former Miss Louise Freeman of this city; three children, Burton J. Jr., Frank F. and Louse F. Lee, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark of New Haven, Conn.
The funeral will be held privately tomorrow.
Less than two weeks ago Dr. Lee was elected chairman of the Committee on Malignancy of the American College of Surgeons. He was president of the American Radium Society and had for several years been Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College.
Besides his work in cancer research, Dr. Lee had a distinguished war record. At the time of receiving his commission as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps, he was the youngest consulting surgeon in the American Expeditionary Force.
RECEIVED DECORATIONS FOR SERVICE.
He served in France from Aug. 7, 1917 to Jan. 25, 1919, and was attached to the Second Division with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was decorated with the American Distinguished Service Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
In July, 1931, he returned to attend the International Congress on Radiology in Paris, and there he and his associate, Dr. George T. Pack, also of New York, presented a paper on the scientific and technical aspects of modern treatment of cancer of the breast.
His views on the curability of cancer attracted a good deal of attention last October, when he addressed the American College of Surgeons at St. Louis, Mo.
"Cancer," said Dr. Lee, "is a curable disease. This is a true statement, if the disease is discovered in its early stages. The symptoms of early cancer may appear of little importance to the patient, but their significance is readily appreciated by every good doctor.
"Pain is almost never a symptom of early cancer. The public at large must realize the importance of this statement, for over and over again the patient will say, 'I thought this condition of little importance because it was painless.'
"If each individual in this country 35 years of age or over would make it a rule to have a careful going over every six months, the cancer problem would be largely solved and many lives would be saved every year."
NATIVE OF NEW HAVEN.
Dr. Lee was born at New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 4, 1874, son of James Howard Lee and Susan Mar Hoyt Lee. He studied at Hillhouse High School, New Haven, and was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1894.
He next came to New York and studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, receiving his M.D. degree in 1898.
Dr. Lee was the first to establish a clinic on breast cancer at the Memorial Hospital for Cancer in 1919. His clinic was considered a model and was frequently visited by eminent American and European cancer specialists. He had been director of the clinic since he founded it.
Dr. Lee was also attending surgeon at the Memorial Hospital, associate attending surgeon at the Cornell-New York Hospital, consulting surgeon to the Sharon Hospital, to St. Francis Hospital, to Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital at Middletown, N.Y., and to the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
He wrote several monographs on cancer and tumor of the breast and contributed articles to Annals of Surgery, Keen's Surgery and Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery.
Dr. Lee was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and served on its board of governors. He was secretary of the American Society for Cancer Control, fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and of the American Medical Association.
He was a member of the American Surgical Association and New York Surgical Society; also the Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, the Harvey Society, the Southern Surgical Association, Interurban Surgical Society, Radiological Association and the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Dr. Lee was a member of the University, Yale and Eclat clubs.
********
OBITUARY #2 - Record of Graduates of Yale University - Deceased during the Year 1933 – 1934 || Bulletin of Yale University - New Haven, 15 October 1934
Burton James Lee, Ph.B. 1894.
Born February 4, 1874, in New Haven, Conn. Died November 12, 1933, in New York City.
Father, James Howard Lee; wholesale commission merchant in New Haven; son of Richard and Mary Ann (Howard) Lee, of Colebrook, Devonshire, England. Mother, Susan Mar (Hoyt) Lee, daughter of Nehemiah Hardy and Lucy (Baldwin) Hoyt, of New Haven. Yale relatives include two cousins: Charles W. Hoyt, '94 S., and Rev. Burton H. Lee, '02.
Hillhouse High School. Biology course
M.D. Columbia 1898; interne at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, 1898-1901; had since practiced in New York City with exception of time spent in military service; since 1903 had been a member of the faculty of Cornell University Medical College, as assistant demonstrator in anatomy 1903-04, demonstrator in anatomy 1904-09, instructor in clinical surgery 1909-1913 and in surgical pathology 1913-16, assistant clinical professor of surgery 1916-18, and clinical professor of surgery since 1918; assistant surgeon Trinity Hospital 1900-1912; surgical chief of clinic at Harlem Hospital 1900-04 and at Presbyterian Dispensary 1905-1910; assistant attending surgeon Cornell-New York Hospital 1910-13 and associate attending surgeon 1913-1925; assistant surgeon Bellevue Hospital 1913-17; cancer specialist, attending surgeon, and a director Memorial Hospital for Cancer since 1919; consulting surgeon Sharon Hospital since 1919, Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital (Middletown, N.Y.) since 1928, St. Francis Hospital since 1932, and New York Infirmary for Women and Children since March, 1933; attended Plattsburg Training Camp August and September, 1916.
Commissioned Captain in the Medical Corps June 1, 1917, overseas with AEF in France August 7, 1917 - January 25, 1919; assigned Base Hospital No. 9; on detached service at l'Hôpital d'Océan, La Panne, on surgical service, October 15, 1917 - January 7, 1918; chairman of Transfusion Committee, A.E.F., January 8 - March 13, 1918; consulting surgeon, 2d Division, March-November, in charge of surgery in hospital for seriously wounded; later consulting surgeon, 14th Corps; assistant consulting surgeon, 2d Army; and consulting surgeon, Bazoilles Group of Hospitals; promoted Major June 25, 1918, and Lieutenant Colonel November 11; awarded Distinguished Service Medal and Croix de Guerre; received discharge January 29, 1919.
Contributed to Annals of Surgery, Keens Surgery, Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery; Journal of American Medical Association, American Journal of Surgery, American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Cancer, American Journal of Nursing, Archives of Surgery, Canadian Practitioner, Radiology, and Acta Radiologica; lectured before Connecticut State Medical Society, American Surgical Association, and American College of Surgeons and gave annual Mary Scott Newbold lecture before Philadelphia College of Physicians in March, 1933; president of American Radium Society 1932-33; secretary of American Society for Cancer Control since 1930; chairman of committee on malignancy of American College of Surgeons since October, 1933 (fellow and member of the board of governors); member American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Surgical Society, New York County Surgical Society, Medical Society of Greater New York, Clinical Surgical Association of North America, Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, Radiological Association, Southern Surgical Society, Interurban Surgical Society, and Harvey Society; elected honorary member of Aurelian Honor Society in 1922; Class agent of Alumni Fund in 1916.
Married (1) October 14, 1902, in New York City, Mabel, daughter of Charles James and Mary Elizabeth (Leavenworth) Kershaw, of Tacoma, Wash. Children: Marion Leavenworth (died in childhood); and Burton James, Jr., Yale '29; Mrs. Lee died March 12, 1912.
Married (2) March 29, 1919, in New York City, Louise, daughter of General Frank Morgan Freeman and Julia Bergh (Muller) Freeman. Children: Frank Freeman and Louise Freeman.
Death due to coronary thrombosis. Buried in Freeman Plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City. Survived by wife, daughter, two sons, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark, of New Haven.
Note: Casket & remains moved from Woodlawn to St. John's Memorial Cemetery in Cold Spring Harbor, L.I. by son Frank Freeman Lee in the 1980s.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The following memorial is adapted from the "Daytonian in Manhattan" online blog, published by Tom Miller, June 11 2020:
Dr. Burton James Lee married twice. The wedding to his first wife, Mabel Kershaw, took place in Trinity Church in downtown New York City on October 14, 1902. The Lees suffered grief when their infant daughter, Marion, died on January 16, 1906. And then in March 1912 Marion Kershaw Lee caught pneumonia and died soon thereafter at the age of 35.
Following his return from the war in France, Dr. Lee married Louise Freeman; the wedding took place in St. Bartholomew's Church on March 29, 1919. Like Dr. Lee, Louise had been overseas in France during the war where she worked for the Red Cross. The social status of the couple was evidenced by her bridal attendant, Helen C. Frick, "daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, at whose home Miss Freeman has been stopping," according to The Sun. A year later, on March 19, 1920, the couple welcomed a son, Frank Freeman Lee.
***********
This profile is maintained by Dr. Lee's grandson, Burton H. Lee
OBITUARY #1 – NYT – Monday, November 13, 1933 (p. 14)
DR. BURTON J. LEE DIES AT AGE OF 59
*****
Cancer Specialist Was Head of Malignancy Committee of College of Surgeons
*****
SERVED IN FRANCE IN WAR
*****
Gave Paper on His Subject at Paris in 1931 Before World Congress on Radiology
*****
Dr. Burton James Lee, surgeon and cancer specialist, died yesterday morning at his residence, 155 East Seventy-second Street, of coronary thrombosis. He was 59 years old.
Dr. Lee is survived by his widow, the former Miss Louise Freeman of this city; three children, Burton J. Jr., Frank F. and Louse F. Lee, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark of New Haven, Conn.
The funeral will be held privately tomorrow.
Less than two weeks ago Dr. Lee was elected chairman of the Committee on Malignancy of the American College of Surgeons. He was president of the American Radium Society and had for several years been Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College.
Besides his work in cancer research, Dr. Lee had a distinguished war record. At the time of receiving his commission as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps, he was the youngest consulting surgeon in the American Expeditionary Force.
RECEIVED DECORATIONS FOR SERVICE.
He served in France from Aug. 7, 1917 to Jan. 25, 1919, and was attached to the Second Division with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was decorated with the American Distinguished Service Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
In July, 1931, he returned to attend the International Congress on Radiology in Paris, and there he and his associate, Dr. George T. Pack, also of New York, presented a paper on the scientific and technical aspects of modern treatment of cancer of the breast.
His views on the curability of cancer attracted a good deal of attention last October, when he addressed the American College of Surgeons at St. Louis, Mo.
"Cancer," said Dr. Lee, "is a curable disease. This is a true statement, if the disease is discovered in its early stages. The symptoms of early cancer may appear of little importance to the patient, but their significance is readily appreciated by every good doctor.
"Pain is almost never a symptom of early cancer. The public at large must realize the importance of this statement, for over and over again the patient will say, 'I thought this condition of little importance because it was painless.'
"If each individual in this country 35 years of age or over would make it a rule to have a careful going over every six months, the cancer problem would be largely solved and many lives would be saved every year."
NATIVE OF NEW HAVEN.
Dr. Lee was born at New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 4, 1874, son of James Howard Lee and Susan Mar Hoyt Lee. He studied at Hillhouse High School, New Haven, and was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1894.
He next came to New York and studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, receiving his M.D. degree in 1898.
Dr. Lee was the first to establish a clinic on breast cancer at the Memorial Hospital for Cancer in 1919. His clinic was considered a model and was frequently visited by eminent American and European cancer specialists. He had been director of the clinic since he founded it.
Dr. Lee was also attending surgeon at the Memorial Hospital, associate attending surgeon at the Cornell-New York Hospital, consulting surgeon to the Sharon Hospital, to St. Francis Hospital, to Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital at Middletown, N.Y., and to the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
He wrote several monographs on cancer and tumor of the breast and contributed articles to Annals of Surgery, Keen's Surgery and Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery.
Dr. Lee was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and served on its board of governors. He was secretary of the American Society for Cancer Control, fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and of the American Medical Association.
He was a member of the American Surgical Association and New York Surgical Society; also the Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, the Harvey Society, the Southern Surgical Association, Interurban Surgical Society, Radiological Association and the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Dr. Lee was a member of the University, Yale and Eclat clubs.
********
OBITUARY #2 - Record of Graduates of Yale University - Deceased during the Year 1933 – 1934 || Bulletin of Yale University - New Haven, 15 October 1934
Burton James Lee, Ph.B. 1894.
Born February 4, 1874, in New Haven, Conn. Died November 12, 1933, in New York City.
Father, James Howard Lee; wholesale commission merchant in New Haven; son of Richard and Mary Ann (Howard) Lee, of Colebrook, Devonshire, England. Mother, Susan Mar (Hoyt) Lee, daughter of Nehemiah Hardy and Lucy (Baldwin) Hoyt, of New Haven. Yale relatives include two cousins: Charles W. Hoyt, '94 S., and Rev. Burton H. Lee, '02.
Hillhouse High School. Biology course
M.D. Columbia 1898; interne at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, 1898-1901; had since practiced in New York City with exception of time spent in military service; since 1903 had been a member of the faculty of Cornell University Medical College, as assistant demonstrator in anatomy 1903-04, demonstrator in anatomy 1904-09, instructor in clinical surgery 1909-1913 and in surgical pathology 1913-16, assistant clinical professor of surgery 1916-18, and clinical professor of surgery since 1918; assistant surgeon Trinity Hospital 1900-1912; surgical chief of clinic at Harlem Hospital 1900-04 and at Presbyterian Dispensary 1905-1910; assistant attending surgeon Cornell-New York Hospital 1910-13 and associate attending surgeon 1913-1925; assistant surgeon Bellevue Hospital 1913-17; cancer specialist, attending surgeon, and a director Memorial Hospital for Cancer since 1919; consulting surgeon Sharon Hospital since 1919, Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital (Middletown, N.Y.) since 1928, St. Francis Hospital since 1932, and New York Infirmary for Women and Children since March, 1933; attended Plattsburg Training Camp August and September, 1916.
Commissioned Captain in the Medical Corps June 1, 1917, overseas with AEF in France August 7, 1917 - January 25, 1919; assigned Base Hospital No. 9; on detached service at l'Hôpital d'Océan, La Panne, on surgical service, October 15, 1917 - January 7, 1918; chairman of Transfusion Committee, A.E.F., January 8 - March 13, 1918; consulting surgeon, 2d Division, March-November, in charge of surgery in hospital for seriously wounded; later consulting surgeon, 14th Corps; assistant consulting surgeon, 2d Army; and consulting surgeon, Bazoilles Group of Hospitals; promoted Major June 25, 1918, and Lieutenant Colonel November 11; awarded Distinguished Service Medal and Croix de Guerre; received discharge January 29, 1919.
Contributed to Annals of Surgery, Keens Surgery, Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery; Journal of American Medical Association, American Journal of Surgery, American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Cancer, American Journal of Nursing, Archives of Surgery, Canadian Practitioner, Radiology, and Acta Radiologica; lectured before Connecticut State Medical Society, American Surgical Association, and American College of Surgeons and gave annual Mary Scott Newbold lecture before Philadelphia College of Physicians in March, 1933; president of American Radium Society 1932-33; secretary of American Society for Cancer Control since 1930; chairman of committee on malignancy of American College of Surgeons since October, 1933 (fellow and member of the board of governors); member American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Surgical Society, New York County Surgical Society, Medical Society of Greater New York, Clinical Surgical Association of North America, Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, Radiological Association, Southern Surgical Society, Interurban Surgical Society, and Harvey Society; elected honorary member of Aurelian Honor Society in 1922; Class agent of Alumni Fund in 1916.
Married (1) October 14, 1902, in New York City, Mabel, daughter of Charles James and Mary Elizabeth (Leavenworth) Kershaw, of Tacoma, Wash. Children: Marion Leavenworth (died in childhood); and Burton James, Jr., Yale '29; Mrs. Lee died March 12, 1912.
Married (2) March 29, 1919, in New York City, Louise, daughter of General Frank Morgan Freeman and Julia Bergh (Muller) Freeman. Children: Frank Freeman and Louise Freeman.
Death due to coronary thrombosis. Buried in Freeman Plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City. Survived by wife, daughter, two sons, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark, of New Haven.
Note: Casket & remains moved from Woodlawn to St. John's Memorial Cemetery in Cold Spring Harbor, L.I. by son Frank Freeman Lee in the 1980s.
+++++++++++++++++++++
The following memorial is adapted from the "Daytonian in Manhattan" online blog, published by Tom Miller, June 11 2020:
Dr. Burton James Lee married twice. The wedding to his first wife, Mabel Kershaw, took place in Trinity Church in downtown New York City on October 14, 1902. The Lees suffered grief when their infant daughter, Marion, died on January 16, 1906. And then in March 1912 Marion Kershaw Lee caught pneumonia and died soon thereafter at the age of 35.
Following his return from the war in France, Dr. Lee married Louise Freeman; the wedding took place in St. Bartholomew's Church on March 29, 1919. Like Dr. Lee, Louise had been overseas in France during the war where she worked for the Red Cross. The social status of the couple was evidenced by her bridal attendant, Helen C. Frick, "daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, at whose home Miss Freeman has been stopping," according to The Sun. A year later, on March 19, 1920, the couple welcomed a son, Frank Freeman Lee.
***********
This profile is maintained by Dr. Lee's grandson, Burton H. Lee
DR. BURTON J. LEE DIES AT AGE OF 59
*****
Cancer Specialist Was Head of Malignancy Committee of College of Surgeons
*****
SERVED IN FRANCE IN WAR
*****
Gave Paper on His Subject at Paris in 1931 Before World Congress on Radiology
*****
Dr. Burton James Lee, surgeon and cancer specialist, died yesterday morning at his residence, 155 East Seventy-second Street, of coronary thrombosis. He was 59 years old.
Dr. Lee is survived by his widow, the former Miss Louise Freeman of this city; three children, Burton J. Jr., Frank F. and Louse F. Lee, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark of New Haven, Conn.
The funeral will be held privately tomorrow.
Less than two weeks ago Dr. Lee was elected chairman of the Committee on Malignancy of the American College of Surgeons. He was president of the American Radium Society and had for several years been Clinical Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College.
Besides his work in cancer research, Dr. Lee had a distinguished war record. At the time of receiving his commission as a Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps, he was the youngest consulting surgeon in the American Expeditionary Force.
RECEIVED DECORATIONS FOR SERVICE.
He served in France from Aug. 7, 1917 to Jan. 25, 1919, and was attached to the Second Division with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was decorated with the American Distinguished Service Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
In July, 1931, he returned to attend the International Congress on Radiology in Paris, and there he and his associate, Dr. George T. Pack, also of New York, presented a paper on the scientific and technical aspects of modern treatment of cancer of the breast.
His views on the curability of cancer attracted a good deal of attention last October, when he addressed the American College of Surgeons at St. Louis, Mo.
"Cancer," said Dr. Lee, "is a curable disease. This is a true statement, if the disease is discovered in its early stages. The symptoms of early cancer may appear of little importance to the patient, but their significance is readily appreciated by every good doctor.
"Pain is almost never a symptom of early cancer. The public at large must realize the importance of this statement, for over and over again the patient will say, 'I thought this condition of little importance because it was painless.'
"If each individual in this country 35 years of age or over would make it a rule to have a careful going over every six months, the cancer problem would be largely solved and many lives would be saved every year."
NATIVE OF NEW HAVEN.
Dr. Lee was born at New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 4, 1874, son of James Howard Lee and Susan Mar Hoyt Lee. He studied at Hillhouse High School, New Haven, and was graduated from Yale University with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1894.
He next came to New York and studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, receiving his M.D. degree in 1898.
Dr. Lee was the first to establish a clinic on breast cancer at the Memorial Hospital for Cancer in 1919. His clinic was considered a model and was frequently visited by eminent American and European cancer specialists. He had been director of the clinic since he founded it.
Dr. Lee was also attending surgeon at the Memorial Hospital, associate attending surgeon at the Cornell-New York Hospital, consulting surgeon to the Sharon Hospital, to St. Francis Hospital, to Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital at Middletown, N.Y., and to the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
He wrote several monographs on cancer and tumor of the breast and contributed articles to Annals of Surgery, Keen's Surgery and Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery.
Dr. Lee was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and served on its board of governors. He was secretary of the American Society for Cancer Control, fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and of the American Medical Association.
He was a member of the American Surgical Association and New York Surgical Society; also the Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, the Harvey Society, the Southern Surgical Association, Interurban Surgical Society, Radiological Association and the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Dr. Lee was a member of the University, Yale and Eclat clubs.
********
OBITUARY #2 - Record of Graduates of Yale University - Deceased during the Year 1933 – 1934 || Bulletin of Yale University - New Haven, 15 October 1934
Burton James Lee, Ph.B. 1894.
Born February 4, 1874, in New Haven, Conn. Died November 12, 1933, in New York City.
Father, James Howard Lee; wholesale commission merchant in New Haven; son of Richard and Mary Ann (Howard) Lee, of Colebrook, Devonshire, England. Mother, Susan Mar (Hoyt) Lee, daughter of Nehemiah Hardy and Lucy (Baldwin) Hoyt, of New Haven. Yale relatives include two cousins: Charles W. Hoyt, '94 S., and Rev. Burton H. Lee, '02.
Hillhouse High School. Biology course
M.D. Columbia 1898; interne at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, 1898-1901; had since practiced in New York City with exception of time spent in military service; since 1903 had been a member of the faculty of Cornell University Medical College, as assistant demonstrator in anatomy 1903-04, demonstrator in anatomy 1904-09, instructor in clinical surgery 1909-1913 and in surgical pathology 1913-16, assistant clinical professor of surgery 1916-18, and clinical professor of surgery since 1918; assistant surgeon Trinity Hospital 1900-1912; surgical chief of clinic at Harlem Hospital 1900-04 and at Presbyterian Dispensary 1905-1910; assistant attending surgeon Cornell-New York Hospital 1910-13 and associate attending surgeon 1913-1925; assistant surgeon Bellevue Hospital 1913-17; cancer specialist, attending surgeon, and a director Memorial Hospital for Cancer since 1919; consulting surgeon Sharon Hospital since 1919, Elizabeth Horton Memorial Hospital (Middletown, N.Y.) since 1928, St. Francis Hospital since 1932, and New York Infirmary for Women and Children since March, 1933; attended Plattsburg Training Camp August and September, 1916.
Commissioned Captain in the Medical Corps June 1, 1917, overseas with AEF in France August 7, 1917 - January 25, 1919; assigned Base Hospital No. 9; on detached service at l'Hôpital d'Océan, La Panne, on surgical service, October 15, 1917 - January 7, 1918; chairman of Transfusion Committee, A.E.F., January 8 - March 13, 1918; consulting surgeon, 2d Division, March-November, in charge of surgery in hospital for seriously wounded; later consulting surgeon, 14th Corps; assistant consulting surgeon, 2d Army; and consulting surgeon, Bazoilles Group of Hospitals; promoted Major June 25, 1918, and Lieutenant Colonel November 11; awarded Distinguished Service Medal and Croix de Guerre; received discharge January 29, 1919.
Contributed to Annals of Surgery, Keens Surgery, Oxford Loose Leaf Surgery; Journal of American Medical Association, American Journal of Surgery, American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Cancer, American Journal of Nursing, Archives of Surgery, Canadian Practitioner, Radiology, and Acta Radiologica; lectured before Connecticut State Medical Society, American Surgical Association, and American College of Surgeons and gave annual Mary Scott Newbold lecture before Philadelphia College of Physicians in March, 1933; president of American Radium Society 1932-33; secretary of American Society for Cancer Control since 1930; chairman of committee on malignancy of American College of Surgeons since October, 1933 (fellow and member of the board of governors); member American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Surgical Society, New York County Surgical Society, Medical Society of Greater New York, Clinical Surgical Association of North America, Society for Clinical Surgery, American Association for Cancer Research, Radiological Association, Southern Surgical Society, Interurban Surgical Society, and Harvey Society; elected honorary member of Aurelian Honor Society in 1922; Class agent of Alumni Fund in 1916.
Married (1) October 14, 1902, in New York City, Mabel, daughter of Charles James and Mary Elizabeth (Leavenworth) Kershaw, of Tacoma, Wash. Children: Marion Leavenworth (died in childhood); and Burton James, Jr., Yale '29; Mrs. Lee died March 12, 1912.
Married (2) March 29, 1919, in New York City, Louise, daughter of General Frank Morgan Freeman and Julia Bergh (Muller) Freeman. Children: Frank Freeman and Louise Freeman.
Death due to coronary thrombosis. Buried in Freeman Plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City. Survived by wife, daughter, two sons, and a sister, Mrs. Clarence Clark, of New Haven.
Note: Casket & remains moved from Woodlawn to St. John's Memorial Cemetery in Cold Spring Harbor, L.I. by son Frank Freeman Lee in the 1980s.
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The following memorial is adapted from the "Daytonian in Manhattan" online blog, published by Tom Miller, June 11 2020:
Dr. Burton James Lee married twice. The wedding to his first wife, Mabel Kershaw, took place in Trinity Church in downtown New York City on October 14, 1902. The Lees suffered grief when their infant daughter, Marion, died on January 16, 1906. And then in March 1912 Marion Kershaw Lee caught pneumonia and died soon thereafter at the age of 35.
Following his return from the war in France, Dr. Lee married Louise Freeman; the wedding took place in St. Bartholomew's Church on March 29, 1919. Like Dr. Lee, Louise had been overseas in France during the war where she worked for the Red Cross. The social status of the couple was evidenced by her bridal attendant, Helen C. Frick, "daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, at whose home Miss Freeman has been stopping," according to The Sun. A year later, on March 19, 1920, the couple welcomed a son, Frank Freeman Lee.
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This profile is maintained by Dr. Lee's grandson, Burton H. Lee
Gravesite Details
Dr. Burton J. Lee Sr. was originally interred by his wife Louise Freeman in the Freeman plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx. His son, Frank F. Lee, arranged to have him dis-interred and moved to Cold Spring Harbor in the early 1980s, where he could be buried in the Lee family plot close to Louise, daughter Louisa & son Burt. Frank is buried there also today.
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