Obituary for Lee Mitchell Graybill Jr.
Lee Mitchell Graybill, Jr., a retired IBM technician and long-time resident of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, died Saturday, April 23, 2022, of natural causes.
Lee married, in 1959 the former Crenatta (“Cree”) Puckett of Pittsburgh, who died in 2007. They were the parents of three sons, Lee III (and wife Stefani) of New Cumberland, David of Arlington, VA, and Daniel, a west-coast resident.
He was preceded in death by a younger brother, Philip and is survived by the following siblings: Kathleen Tittle of Middleburg, Guy Graybill of Selinsgrove and Jane Walter of Penns Creek.
Lee was born in 1929 in the brick manufacturing town of Paxtonville, a small village in Snyder County, the second child of Lee and Pauline Oldt Graybill. He lived in Paxtonville until he graduated from Middleburg High School in 1947. Lee, while still a teen, showed an interest in art and in electricity, as well as ice-skating skills as a teenager on the mill pond of his hometown. His interest in electrical work led Lee to create an electrical workshop for himself in an abandoned chicken house on the property.
After high school, he studied at the Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. In the army, Graybill became a teacher of radar. After his enlistment obligations were met, he was discharged from the military and accepted a position in Philadelphia with the Bell Telephone Company. Following a brief stint with “Bell,” Lee began a life-career with the International Business Machines (IBM) company. That employment saw him work in Philadelphia, then in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Eventually, he was promoted to a supervisory role in the Harrisburg, PA, area. Lee, who expressed a preference for metropolitan life, remained in the Harrisburg area as a resident of Good Hope Farms, across the river from the state capital.
Lee painted, as a hobby; but with a skill that had the staff at the retirement facility of Bethany Village hold a showing of his art at their administrative building.
While in retirement, Lee was introduced to a paraplegic victim of an automobile accident. The young man had no way to communicate, so Graybill invented a unique device that allowed the nearly-helpless victim to send signals to his computer by simply opening his mouth sending morse code. Lee’s device allowed the man, once again, to interact with others.
Lee was an active member of the Metropolitan Dance Club for the past 15 years. It was through membership in that club that he met Ms. Dotty Boyanowski, club president. Ms. Boyanowski was Lee’s companion in recent years.
A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022, at Myers-Baker Funeral Home, 1903 Market St, Camp Hill, PA, 17011. A viewing will precede the service in the funeral home from 12:00 PM until the time of the service.
Interment will follow services at Rolling Green Cemetery, 1811 Carlisle Rd, Camp Hill, PA, 17011.
Lee married, in 1959 the former Crenatta (“Cree”) Puckett of Pittsburgh, who died in 2007. They were the parents of three sons, Lee III (and wife Stefani) of New Cumberland, David of Arlington, VA, and Daniel, a west-coast resident.
He was preceded in death by a younger brother, Philip and is survived by the following siblings: Kathleen Tittle of Middleburg, Guy Graybill of Selinsgrove and Jane Walter of Penns Creek.
Lee was born in 1929 in the brick manufacturing town of Paxtonville, a small village in Snyder County, the second child of Lee and Pauline Oldt Graybill. He lived in Paxtonville until he graduated from Middleburg High School in 1947. Lee, while still a teen, showed an interest in art and in electricity, as well as ice-skating skills as a teenager on the mill pond of his hometown. His interest in electrical work led Lee to create an electrical workshop for himself in an abandoned chicken house on the property.
After high school, he studied at the Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. In the army, Graybill became a teacher of radar. After his enlistment obligations were met, he was discharged from the military and accepted a position in Philadelphia with the Bell Telephone Company. Following a brief stint with “Bell,” Lee began a life-career with the International Business Machines (IBM) company. That employment saw him work in Philadelphia, then in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Eventually, he was promoted to a supervisory role in the Harrisburg, PA, area. Lee, who expressed a preference for metropolitan life, remained in the Harrisburg area as a resident of Good Hope Farms, across the river from the state capital.
Lee painted, as a hobby; but with a skill that had the staff at the retirement facility of Bethany Village hold a showing of his art at their administrative building.
While in retirement, Lee was introduced to a paraplegic victim of an automobile accident. The young man had no way to communicate, so Graybill invented a unique device that allowed the nearly-helpless victim to send signals to his computer by simply opening his mouth sending morse code. Lee’s device allowed the man, once again, to interact with others.
Lee was an active member of the Metropolitan Dance Club for the past 15 years. It was through membership in that club that he met Ms. Dotty Boyanowski, club president. Ms. Boyanowski was Lee’s companion in recent years.
A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022, at Myers-Baker Funeral Home, 1903 Market St, Camp Hill, PA, 17011. A viewing will precede the service in the funeral home from 12:00 PM until the time of the service.
Interment will follow services at Rolling Green Cemetery, 1811 Carlisle Rd, Camp Hill, PA, 17011.