Lee Nation Obituary

Lee Nation

August 10, 1952 - September 23, 2023

Phoenix, Arizona - If you ask anyone who has known Lee Nation what they remember about him, chances are very good they will say, "He was the smartest person I knew."

Lee Merrill Nation was born in Great Bend,Kansas, August 10, 1952. Much of his childhood was spent in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, before his family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, Lee graduated from Thomas Edison Preparatory School where he played baseball and was active in band, performing with more than one jazz combo.

While completing his degree in economics at the University of Tulsa, Lee began his law studies at U.M.K.C. School of Law, making a number of road trips between K.C. and Tulsa in his old, yellow Ford Fairlane.

Upon graduating from law school, Lee began work for the Public Defender's office where he was made Head of Appeals for the K.C. Office. In this capacity, he handled the appeal of Billy Duren which led him to Washington in 1978 to argue Duren v Missouri before the U.S. Supreme Court alongside Ruth Bader Ginsberg who hosted him in her home during his stay. The now famous and true story (well known among Lee's friends) is that Lee came down with a cold while there and the future Supreme Court justice cured him with her homemade chicken soup.

In late 1978 Lee and his classmate, Mike Curley, formed the law partnership Nation and Curley with an office on the Country Club Plaza where Lee continued his specialization in criminal defense law.

Lee moved with his family to Arizona in 1999 where he taught law-related courses at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff before settling into a successful practice as a personal injury lawyer in the Phoenix area. In 2014 he retired from practicing law.

In 2005 Lee married Sandra Woolcott. They fostered many, many dogs over the years at their home in Phoenix.

Lee died in Phoenix September 23, 2023 after a sudden illness. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Jean Nation. He is survived by his wife Sandy of the home, daughter Elliot of Phoenix, Dylan (Emma) and infant grandson Murphy Lee of Fayetteville, stepdaughters Sybil of St. Joseph and Shanti of Prescott, sister Pam Nation of Santa Fe, and former wife Catherine Petersen of Flagstaff.

Lee will be sadly missed as a husband, father and friend. A celebration of life will be held in Kansas City on October 28 at Third Street Social, 5031 Main Street, from one to three in the afternoon.