Lee was born in West Palm Beach, Florida to the late Ruth (Burgan) and William Lee Cleveland on August 31, 1925.
Lee was an accomplished athlete graduating from Troy High School in 1943 and enlisting in the Army Air Corps. While stationed at Clovis Army Air Base, he witnessed the fireball from the first atomic bomb test in Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. After his discharge, he attended Mansfield University and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in education. He worked as a sales representative for several manufactured housing companies for many years. He ultimately became a real estate broker and started his own real estate company, Cleveland Realty in Canton, Pennsylvania.
Lee is survived by his daughters Gail (Scott) Jackson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Lisa (Steve) Feldman of Grove City, Ohio; Sandra (Kenneth) Voegtlen of Gillett, Pennsylvania; and sister Joyce Dimmick of State College, Pennsylvania; grandchildren, Kate (James) Lubomski and Andrew Jackson; great-grandchildren, Addison Hiner and Zosia Lubomski; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife of 55 years Pauline (Mckean) Cleveland.
A memorial service will be held on December 28 at the Troy Baptist Church in Troy, Pennsylvania at 11:00 a.m.