Services for Lee will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2023, at the Le Grand Friends Church beginning at 3:00 P.M. A visitation for family and friends will be held one-hour prior to services. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family for a later designation. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

James Lee was born on February 24, 1941, in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. He was the youngest of two sons born to Hoyt Mitchell Sr. and Juanita (Cook) Brant. Lee grew up in the Beaufort area and throughout South Carolina where he attended many schools over the years. Lee enlisted in the United States Air Force where he served from 1959 to 1962 as a jet mechanic until he was honorably discharged from service.

On January 30, 1965, Lee was united in marriage to the love of his life Tiara Potter in Ames, Iowa. Together they moved to Le Grand, Iowa, and began a family raising their son Wade and daughter Valee. Lee worked for Fisher Controls in Marshalltown, Iowa, working as a machinist and eventually as an electronics tech. In his time away from work, he was on the Le Grand Volunteer Fire Department and EMS Services for 43 years and served for a time as the town police officer Lee retired from Fisher Controls in 1996.

Lee stayed active outside of his work life, he was a member of the American Legion, U.A.W. Local 893, Iowa Jeep Club and the Sundae Riders Motorcycle Club, and he was a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts. In his free time, he enjoyed going fishing, hunting, camping, cooking and meeting his friends at the Sunrise Cafe. He liked to go jeeping in Wyoming. In addition to riding motorcycles with his wife, he taught riding classes at Marshalltown Community College. He loved spending time with his family and friends, and he was always willing to help them with anything.

He is survived by his wife, Tiara Brant; his children, Wade (Tina) Brant and Valee (Tim) Kacmarynski; his grandchildren: Bailey Brant, Madison (Denver) Brant-Young and Delcie Sanache; his brother Hoyt Mitchell Brant jr.; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Nieta (Carl) Martin, George (Christy) Potter, Kevin (Sheryl) Potter and Kate (Gearld) Brown.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his mother and father-in-law and his sister in-law.