Charles R Lee

Charles R. “Chuck” Lee ’61, trustee emeritus of Cornell University, died May 13 2022. He was 82. Mr. Lee was retired Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Communications Inc. (telecommunication services). He was also a Director of The DIRECTV Group, Inc., Marathon Oil Corporation, United Technologies Corporation and U.S. Steel Corporation. Lee was born Feb. 15, 1940, in Wexford, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Pittsburgh area. He earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Cornell and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964. He began his business career with United States Steel Corporation in 1964. In 1983, Lee joined GTE Corporation, where he served as president, CEO and chairman. He shepherded the company through its merger with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon Communications, Inc., in 2000 and served as chairman and co-CEO of Verizon until his retirement in 2002. In addition to wife Ilda, Lee is survived by five children, including Dana Lee Evans ’86, and 16 grandchildren, including Eric Lee ’20 and Julia Evans ’22.