Obituary of Gary W. "Garbo" Lee

Gary W. “Garbo” Lee went to be with his Heavenly Father on September 21, 2020 after a lengthy illness.
Garbo was born in Portsmouth, VA to Homer D. and Bonnie Lee (Mainland) on July 22, 1955.  Upon his father’s retirement from the US Navy, his family moved to Pendleton, SC.  He played football in school, and developed a love for dirt track racing while working part-time for his friend, Charlie Brown.  His love for racing continued into his adult years; racing at Columbia and Sumter Speedway.  He was very involved in the Men’s Ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

Garbo worked for Clemson University in the maintenance department for five years.  A friend encouraged him to apply to the SC Highway Patrol.  He was accepted and assigned to Richland County.  He worked the road for seven years prior to transferring to the Size and Weight Team (SC State Transport Police), and he retired in 2001.  He returned to the SC Highway Patrol in 2002 on the Insurance Enforcement Unit where he worked until October 2015.

Garbo has been married to Vada P. Lee for forty-three years.  They were blessed with one son who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a State Trooper as well.

He is survived by his wife, Vada P. Lee; son, W. Marcus Lee (Jennifer Floyd); brothers: Michael D. Lee (Linda Darlene) and their family, Kenneth D. Lee (Myrna) and their family.  Garbo was predeceased by his parents.

A visitation will be held from 5-7pm on September 24th, 2020 at Thompson Funeral Home (Leesburg Road).  The memorial service will be at Thompson’s Funeral Home (Leesburg Road) on September 25th, 2020 at 11:00 am with Rev. Dr. J. Eric Skidmore presiding.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the church Garbo attended and loved, Trinity Presbyterian Church located at 1000 Greenlawn Drive, Columbia, SC 29209.

The memorial service will be live streamed at tribucast.com. To view, use the following url:   https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/261956511