Vincent Lee Obituary

Vincent Richards Lee "Vince", passed away on April 17, 2024.

He was born on the 7th of November 1938, in Gainesville, Florida, to parents Clarissa Abernathy and Claude Frances Lee and brother Claude Frances Lee Jr.. His father's position with Paramount Pictures moved the family to Tarrytown, New York where Vince spent his childhood playing in the famed woods of the Sleepy Hollow Manor.

In his teens, Vince developed a love for the outdoors, and more specifically, the mountains. He took up mountaineering and climbing in the nearby peaks of New Hampshire. Climbing and the rich lessons it instilled would become a big part of his life.

Vince attended Princeton University in the fall of 1956 and entered the Regular Naval ROTC program. He graduated in 1960 with a BA in Architecture and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. His time in the Military and Ivy League gave him exposure to people of different walks of life and an appreciation for a wide variety of views and backgrounds. He developed dozens of life long relationships and a balanced belief system that made him an easy person to like.

His post college years were filled with service in the Marine Corps, which first took him to Southeast Asia, and eventually landed him at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Sierra Nevadas, where he taught young Marines climbing, mountaineering and survival. When his time with the Marines ended, he moved to the Rockies where he worked as a climbing guide for the legendary Paul Petzl at Outward Bound in Colorado, and later the newly formed National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander, Wyoming.

By this time, Vince had married his first wife and high school sweetheart, Danielle Hayn. In 1961, they had twin sons James Scott and Jon Richards, and later a third son, Christopher Tobin, born in 1969. Feeling the need for more money than the "Dirt Bag" life provided, in 1967 he found a job in nearby Jackson Hole that utilized his college education. Design Associates (D/ A) was a small architecture firm in Wilson, Wyoming, run by John Morgan, a well known and loved local. John was a kindred spirit and mentor to Vince and the two became great friends. When not working in architecture, John allowed (encouraged) Vince to spend time in the mountains, climbing and guiding groups.

Back in civilization, Vince was an advocate for the environment. He worked for 3 consecutive Governors of Wyoming to help defend the environment from exploitation by the powerful mineral interests and worked locally to protect the Valley's open spaces, first with the Nature Conservancy and later as a founding member and president of the Jackson Hole Land Trust. His work made a difference: the leadership in Cheyenne appreciated him, and despite pressures and incentives from the mineral industries, they created legislation that prioritized the environment. In Jackson, the Nature Conservancy and Land Trust worked to save ranches from development by creating tax incentives for preservation. Their success is what makes the valley so unique and special.

In the early 80s, Vince started High Country West Alpine Expeditions, and began taking groups into the Teton and Wind River Mountain Ranges. His primary client was an old friend from North Carolina who had built a mountaineering program for the boys of the Asheville School, and wanted to bring them out to experience Wyoming. The trips were a transformative experience for the hundreds of young men and eventually young women who participated in the program, giving each the kind of confidence only found in succeeding where you never imagined you could.

When Vince's twins hit their teens, to get them and their friends engaged in the outdoors, he formed Boy Scout Troop 40 in Wilson, Wyoming. Instead of chasing merit badges, they went on long, grueling, multi-night backpacking and climbing trips, something seen as a bit advanced for kids of their age. They loved it and became the envy of other scout troops in the area. Vince's scout troop did for those kids what High Country West did for the Asheville kids, giving them pride and confidence through hard work and accomplishment.

Vince and Dani had many good years together, but their lives and interests began to diverge in the mid 70s and they divorced in 1977. The breakup triggered a new freedom in Vince. A 1978 climbing trip in Colombia would define a path for him. He was taken by the raw and uncharted nature of South America and took an interest in Pre-Columbian Architecture, most particularly that of the Incan Empire. With skills he'd picked up in the Marines, Vince began studying historic Spanish accounts and aerial Landsat maps in an effort to find Incan settlements lost to time. Joined by friends and his new wife Nancy, he launched the first of many expeditions into the wilds of Peru to see if his research was accurate.

The trips were wildly successful. Vince and Nancy and their fellow explorers found and documented dozens of sites. Vince would return from the trips and transpose his journals and sketches into maps, writing about his findings. He formed Sixpac Manco Publications to make his work available for anyone interested. His findings got the attention of the small but prestigious Institute of Andean Studies. The Institute inducted him as a member in 1984, elevating him from a hobbyist to a credible and respected explorer.

In the early 2000s, Vince and Nancy relocated to Cortez, Colorado, finally having had enough of the long Jackson winters. There they found a home and a ranch and a whole new life among new and wonderful friends. Vince gave up architecture and pursued archaeology and writing when not working as a gentleman farmer.

He was an amazing person who led a rich life. His passing was a shock to all who know him, but his impact will be long remembered. Vince was an important and essential character in many lives and he will be sorely missed. He is survived by his beloved wife Nancy, his three sons, one grand daughter, three dogs, two horses and three miniature burros....

His Celebrations of Life will be held at the Lee Ranch in Cortez Colorado, Sunday, May 12, at 5:30PM and in Jackson, WY on June 8th, 2024, 2pm-5pm, Cloudveil, rooftopdeck.