Tributes

Lee West Movius passed away on June 27, 2020. He was born on March 18, 1947 in Boston, MA, to Dearborn Hanham and George West Movius. The family moved to Dearborn’s hometown of Asheville, NC, within two years and Lee grew up there. There, too, he developed many of his enduring passions. He loved the NC mountains and the beauty of nature throughout this country. He delighted in music after training rigorously as a pianist under the tutelage of Grace Potter Carroll who herself had trained under Theodor Leschitizky in pre-WWI Europe. Finally, he always valued education and the life of the mind. He considered himself fortunate to have been educated at St. Genevieve-Gibbons Hall in Asheville; at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA; Harvard University (BA); and the University of Chicago (MA and JD). As a first-year graduate student in Modern European History at the U of Chicago, Lee met his future wife Gwynne, a first-year graduate student in Medieval History. Both changed career goals before marrying in 1974. Lee spent two years in Chapel Hill while Gwynne pursued an MBA. Lee clerked for Judge Frank Parker on the NC Court of Appeals for the first year and served as an attorney on the NC Utilities Commission for the second year. In 1975 Lee and Gwynne moved to Charlotte where Lee joined the law firm of Kennedy, Covington, Lobdell, and Hickman (now known as K&L Gates LLP). His practice of law was a source of great joy to him and he valued the support and intellectual stimulation of the interaction with his colleagues in the firm, and especially in his practice group, throughout his career. Most of Lee’s volunteer activities in Charlotte involved music. He served on the Board of Directors of both the Friends of Music at Queens and the Community Concert Association of Charlotte in the 20th century, and, after becoming a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, he served as the volunteer choir accompanist for 15 years. Lee was a kind and attentive man who treated everyone he met with respect and compassion. He was intrigued by almost every aspect of our complicated world and loved being able to share that world with his daughter as she grew up. In 2011 Lee retired from practicing law for health reasons. Lee negotiated his 15-year odyssey with metastatic kidney cancer with grace and courage, and he deeply appreciated the extraordinary care that he received. Lee was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife Gwynne; by his daughter Diana Movius (James Fotouhi); and by his sister Rosemary Steiner (Casey); also by his sisters-in-law, and their husbands, and nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to the UUCC Memorial Endowment Trust at the UU Church of Charlotte, 234 N. Sharon-Amity Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211. A virtual memorial service will take place at a later date. On-line condolences for the family may be left at www.heritagecares.com

Tributes

Lee Movius

March 18, 1947 - June 27, 2020

Obituary & Service

Flowers & Gifts

Tributes

Lee Movius

March 18, 1947 - June 27, 2020

Obituary & Service

Share a Memory Below

Flowers & Gifts