John Allen Lees

John Allen Lees, 89, of Winchester, VA, died peacefully at his home at Westminster Canterbury of the Shenandoah Valley, on June 21, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. Born on October 13, 1931, John was the son of Justin Dempster and Hazel Beck Lees, of Pittsburgh and Sewickley, PA, and the grandson of John Andrew Beck, also of Pittsburgh. He passed his formative years in Sewickley, PA, where he attended the Sewickley Academy. John was a 1950 graduate of Brooks School. He received a BA from Columbia College in 1954, and a BS from the Columbia School of General Studies in 1958. John served in the US Army from 1954-1956. He earned a PhD in Geology from Pennsylvania State University in 1964. While at Penn State, John met and married Alice Allan Hoyt, also a student at the University. Upon John's graduation, he and Alice moved to New Orleans, LA, where John worked first for Amoco Oil Company, and then for the US Geological Survey. While there, the three Lees children attended Trinity Episcopal School. John and Alice enjoyed sailing on Lake Pontchartrain, and Alice began art school at Tulane University.

A transfer in 1974 took the Lees family to Washington, DC, where John continued to work for the USGS (subsequently Minerals Management) until his retirement in 1988, when he and Alice moved to a small farm in Waterford, VA. After 18 happy years of farm life, they downsized to a small house in Philomont, VA, and from thence, to Westminster Canterbury.

During his long life, John enjoyed many activities: sailing; collecting gemstones; horseback riding of all kinds; and most of all, bagpiping. He was a member of the Washington Scottish Pipe band for many years, as well as playing with Winchester Pipes & Drums during his years in Winchester. Among his friends and family, John enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a raconteur and wit. He, Alice, and their children spent many summers at Eatons' Ranch, near Sheridan, WY.

????John leaves his devoted wife, Alice, and three children: Justin Dempster Lees (Suzzan Craig) of New York, NY; John Howland Lees, of Los Angeles, CA; and Diana Seabury Lees, of Sheridan, WY. His sister, Jane Lees Lynch and brother-in-law, Hugh McKenna Lynch, pre-deceased him. In addition, he leaves two nieces, Janet Lees Lynch and Katharine Gans Lynch (Clapp), and a great-niece, Amelia Jane Maggio, as well as three nieces and multiple great and great-great-nieces and nephews on Alice's side of the family.



Interment of ashes will be at Cool Spring Cemetery in Berryville, VA, on Wednesday, July 7, at 1:00 pm. On the following day, Thursday, July 8, a memorial service in celebration of John's life will be held at 1:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley in Stephens City, VA.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in John's name to Brooks School, North Andover, MA; Columbia College, New York City; or the Fellowship Fund of Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury, Winchester, VA.

Online condolences may be left at www.jonesfuneralhomes.com