Obituary of Joseph Manning Lee

Joseph Manning Lee passed away on July 23, 2024 at Morristown Hospital of Interstitial Lung Disease, surrounded by his loving family. He was 72 years old.

Manning was born October 5, 1951 in Washington, DC.  He grew up in Kensington, Maryland with his parents, the late William and Doris Kingsbury Lee, and his older brother Clifford.  Manning and Clifford took devoted care of their mother who was widowed for 50 years.

Manning graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1973.  He was a loyal son of Notre Dame his whole life and loved the Fighting Irish teams. 

Manning earned his law degree cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976.  From 1976-1992 he worked for a DC law firm, for Satellite Business Systems, and for Bell Atlantic.  In 1992, he joined Teleport Communications Group in New York as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.  At that time, Manning, Julie, and their growing family moved to Basking Ridge, NJ. AT&T acquired Teleport in 1998, and Manning worked as Staff Attorney for AT&T in Basking Ridge and Bedminster until his retirement in 2016.

Manning will be remembered most of all as a family man.  He met his wife, Julie Maloney, at a Notre Dame Alumni Club of Washington luncheon in 1979.  They married in 1980 in Westchester, Illinois.  They took great delight in their six children – Rosemary Farzinfard (Sina), Brian (Kathleen), Mary Beth, Brendan (Alexandra), and twins Nancy Minardi (Joseph), and Bridget Kinasz (Conor).  Manning welcomed with great joy seven grandchildren – Grace, Declan, Anna, Kieran, Aiden, Colleen, and Isla.  He was famous for his imaginative bedtime stories for the grandchildren.

Their loving marriage of 44 years was a beautiful example to their children.  Manning lived by a favorite quote of Father Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame: “The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”

He enjoyed family trips to Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin to visit the extended Maloney family.  He always enjoyed time with the O’Connell cousins in Maryland. His godson, Gregory Lee and wife, Jill, always held a special place in his heart. 

In his later years, Manning took great pleasure in family vacations to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Nothing gave him more joy than seeing his children and grandchildren have fun together.

He loved organizing March Madness bracket challenges every year for the extended Maloney and Lee families.  His witty dispatches, sent from “Mr. Commissioner,” throughout the tournament will be missed.  

In his retirement, Manning developed his landscape painting skills.  He got inspiration especially from several trips to Maine and Ireland with Julie.  They loved driving around the beautiful Emerald Isle.  Manning’s paintings were exhibited at the annual Tewksbury Art Show in Oldwick, NJ.  Manning was grateful for his art teacher of many years, Gary Godbee, and his classmates at the Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, NJ.

Manning enjoyed volunteering.  He and his children treasured their memories of camping with the Boy Scouts at Sabattis in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and coaching basketball, baseball, and soccer youth teams.  In the community, Manning was an enthusiastic volunteer at the Visiting Nurses Rummage Sale in Far Hills, NJ and at the American Association of University Women book sale in Bernardsville, NJ.

Manning took particular joy in his volunteer work with the Men of Charity of St. James Church. He enjoyed helping at their events and doing charitable works for people in need for many years. 

Manning will be remembered fondly by his family and friends for his cheerfulness, sense of humor, and loving heart.

Visitation will be held on Sunday July 28^th 1-4pm at the Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home, 101 South Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ. Liturgy of Christian Burial will be at St. James Church, 184 S Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ on Monday, July 29^th at 10:00 am, immediately followed by interment at Holy Cross, Basking Ridge.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the St James Men of Charity.  Donations can be given through the website, https://sjmoc.org/give, or by check payable to St. James Men of Charity at St. James Church, P.O Box 310, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.