Lee Tebo

Lee B. Tebo, age 86, of Paola, Kansas, formerly of Athens, Georgia, died Friday, March 8, 2013 at Olathe Medical Center. Lee was born July 6, 1926 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was the son of Leonidas Brockman and Carita (Kirby) Tebo. He grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree and Master"s degree in Zoology and Entomology from Iowa State University as well as completing a Research Fellowship Program there. Lee served his country in the United States Army during World War II as a scout in a front-line rifle squad in the Pacific Theater, Luzon the Philippines, and later as a Tech Sgt; Sgt Major in occupied Japan. He received the Combat Infantry Badge and other ribbons and medals for his service. Lee and his first wife Margaret Ann were married in Des Moines, Iowa in November of 1947. They started a family in Ames, Iowa and then moved to North Carolina. They also lived for a short time in California. During his college years Lee dug up and sold worms for bait and drove cabs to support his family while also attending college. He was later married to Lestina Smith. They lived on a farm near Athens, Georgia. Lee moved from Georgia to rural Paola, Kansas to live with his daughter and son-in-law in July of 2009 after Lestina"s death. Lee retired from his career as Chief of the Ecology Branch of the S.E. Region of the EPA. He also worked as an aquatic/fisheries biologist for the state of North Carolina and Ohio and as a Marine Biologist in the Pacific for a short time. He was past president of the North American Benthological Society in 1972. He had been a member of the American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, North American Academy of Science, Wildlife Society, North Carolina Academy of Science, and Southern Division American Fisheries Society. He chaired or was a representative on many national panels and committees involving ecology. Recognized internationally in several specialized areas of ecology, he authored or co-authored over seventeen scientific publications. He wrote or made significant contributions to many of the environmental guidelines/methodology that protect our Nations" wetlands and estuaries/ inland and coastal waterways. He was also a past member of the VFW and Elks. Lee had many hobbies. He grew up hunting and fly-fishing in Iowa and Missouri. He enjoyed "harvesting" deer, duck and pheasant in an ethical manner and he ate what he killed. He also enjoyed hunting for wild boar at Groton Plantation in South Carolina. Fishing was his passion. He fished all over the United States for every type of fish from bonefish and tarpon in the Florida Keys to small and largemouth bass in the rivers and lakes in Georgia, Maine and North Carolina. After retirement he spent summers and fall in Montana where he engaged in fly-fishing the beautiful rivers there in summer and duck hunting in fall and playing poker with the fishing guides. He killed an elk in the Montana mountains with his buddy and guide Eric Shores. He swore he couldn"t do it again as it was a "magnificent animal". He had one of the elks teeth made into a necklace that he wore the rest of his life. He tied flies for fly-fishing as well as being a talented artist who carved exquisite waterfowl and other birds. Prior to retirement, putzing around in his huge garden and rooting on the Georgia Bulldogs were favorite pastimes. His annual pig roast/Georgia football watching party was a favorite of his friends and co-workers. He was a wonderful mentor and a consummate host who shared his love of and expertise in the outdoors with everyone he knew. Thanks Dad! We will never forget floating the rivers in Montana; catching a tarpon in the Keys or shooting mistletoe out of trees on the farm with you. You were an interesting, brilliant, intense, fun, hard-working, creative, talented man who taught and shared so much with us. Lee was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his son Greg. He is survived by his daughter Mary and her husband Bill of Paola, Kansas; his sister Pamela Feaster; two grandchildren; two great grandchildren and cousins, nieces and nephews. There will be a wake in Lee"s memory at a later date at Darrell"s in Paola with BBQ and beer. Dad would have enjoyed the down-home ambience and he certainly enjoyed BBQ and beer. He was cremated and his ashes will be mixed with his wife"s and scattered on his lake at his farm in Georgia and on the Madison River in Montana. It is fitting that he will float with the fish that he so loved and that his ashes will mingle with the natural resource that he dedicated his career to protecting so that we might all have clean, healthy water to drink and for recreation. Memorials to the Miami County Kansas Cancer Foundation, the Audubon Society or an animal rescue organization of your choice are welcomed and can be sent in care of Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, 305 N. Pearl St., Paola, KS, 66071. To leave a message for the family please press the "Share Memories" button above.