Someone once said, “An Air Force Chief Master Sergeant in never dies, he just gets reassigned.”

Robert A. “Bob” Lee, beloved father and grandfather, accepted his new orders on January 17, 2026, when he joined his life partner of 73 years, Nelda, who preceded him in death in 2024.

Born on Oct. 3, 1928, in Bogalusa, LA, Bob died in Cheyenne. He is survived by daughter Debra Lee, Cheyenne; son David Lee, Newnan, GA, and grandchildren Stone and Kaylin.

Bob had a 30-year distinguished career in service to this country. He first joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1946 and retired from the U.S Air Force in 1977. He was proud to have been selected as one of the Air Force’s first Chief Master Sergeants and Senior Chief Master Sergeants when those ranks were created. As a specialist in communications and intelligence, he served in numerous locations throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, taking his family with him on most assignments.

When stationed at F.E. Warren AFB in 1949, he was instrumental in starting the teletype operator school. He was later put in charge of the first cryptographic school in the Air Force, was responsible for the government’s largest telephone exchange at Vandenburg AFB, and provided maintenance management support to the Global Critical Intelligence Network. He received numerous awards and citations during his military career, including the Korean Service Medal.

Following Bob’s retirement from the military, he worked as an agent for the New York Life Insurance Company in Cheyenne.

Like many Southerners, Bob was a great storyteller, and he never met a stranger. He loved to share stories about his decades-long military career, camping and fishing adventures, his family, and life in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Taiwan, England and Germany.

In remembrance of Bob, the family asks that charitable donations be made to the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Davis Hospice Center, or Cheyenne Animal Shelter.

Military honors and burial will be held at a later date at Cheyenne National Cemetery.