THE LIFE OF DR. HAROLD LEE

1936 - 2022

Pastor, Scholar, Builder for God

On June 13, 1936, in Wellsburg, West Virginia, Robert Lee and Lillian Armstead greeted their son Harold Lee and his twin brother, Harry. Harold’s father had relocated his family to West Virginia. Although segregation was the order of the day, the Lees became quick friends with their neighbors in a predominantly white county. In 1954, Harold graduated with honors from Lincoln High School in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Following his high school graduation, Harold enlisted in the United States Air Force. By the time he was honorably discharged in 1958, he had ascended to the noncommissioned officer role of Sergeant First Class. During his military years, his young heart was captured by Barbara L. Kilgore. After exchanging vows, the couple was blessed with Debra’s birth; then the young family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio.

Harold’s sister invited him to attend evangelistic meetings conducted by the late Walter M. Starks. Convicted by the Holy Spirit, Harold was baptized into the Glenville Seventh-day Adventist Church. Mentored by Elder Starks, it did not take long for Harold to sense his calling to ministry.

Harold entered Oakwood College resolving to learn everything that would sharpen his ministerial calling. He graduated magna cum laude in 1962 with a double major in theology and history. By this time, his tribe had expanded with the births of Robert, Everett, and Angela.

The Lee family relocated to Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he received a Master of Arts in Systematic Theology from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in 1964. He was then called to pastoral ministry by the Allegheny Conference and was assigned to the New Hope Church in Canton, followed by the Bethel Church in Akron, both in Ohio. He was ordained in 1968.

Elder Lee and his family were called to serve the Caribbean Union Conference, to organize and establish the Department of Stewardship and Development. He also sharpened his academic skills by teaching stewardship theology a nd methodology at Caribbean Union College.

Returning to the United States in 1974, the Lees settled in Huntsville, Alabama, where he served his beloved alma mater as Vice President for Development and Public Relations, and taught classes in the Department of Religion and Theology. He fulfilled a teenage dream of attending the Harvard University School of Business, where he received a Certificate in Financial Management.

Following this time at Oakwood, he assumed pastorates in the Southwest

Region and Allegheny East Conferences, strengthening congregations i n Houston, Texas; the Dupont Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C., and the Church of the Oranges in New Jersey. Elder Lee was later asked to serve as Stewardship Director for the Allegheny East Conference. From there, he accepted calls to serve as Associate Stewardship Director for the General Conference, the North American Division, and the Columbia Union.

After serving in the Stewardship Department of the Columbia Union, Elder Lee was elected Executive Secretary and later President of the union in 1998. His academic pursuits culminated with a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership, Organizational Theory, and Behavior from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois.

D r. Lee chaired the Board of Trustees at Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University), the Columbia Union Revolving Fund Board of Directors, the MidAtlantic Adventist HealthCare and Adventist HealthCare, Inc., and Kettering Health and Kettering Medical Center Network. After a successful tenure modeling stellar leadership, Dr. Lee officially retired from full-time, renumerated denominational work.

His “retirement” found him serving on the Board of Trustees of Oakwood University, the Ellen G. White Estate, and Adventist Health International.

He was actively involved in growing and maintaining denominational hospitals in Trinidad, Guyana and Curacao. Until recently, he was actively spearheading a development project for the hospital in Trinidad. Dr. Lee served as the chairman for the Sabbath in Africa Study Group, the brainchild of one of his mentors, Dr. Charles E .Bradford

Oakwood University needed a visionary leader for the Bradford Cleveland Brook s L eadership Center, and the Lees returned to the Huntsville area again. In record time, Dr. Lee coordinated the development efforts, oversaw building construction, and launched leadership training programs for conference executives, pastors, and local elders.

Dr. Lee published several biographies: Brad: Visionary Spiritual Leadership; E. E. Cleveland: Evangelist Extraordinaire; and (with Dr. Benjamin Baker), C. D. Brooks: The Man Behind the Message. He also served as the review editor for the volume on his spiritual father, Walter Starks: Principles of Stewardship.

Few can deny that Dr. Harold L. Lee fought valiantly, finished a challenging course, and kept an empowering faith until he drew his last breath on November 9, 2022. t

Special Thanks to the Lee family from Regional Voice magazine for sharing this fitting tribute to the prolific, groundbreaking life of this leader, scholar and administrator, Dr. Harold L. Lee.

His academic pursuits culminated with a