Lee Suta took his next journey on 23 September, surrounded by friends and family, one week after baking the last of his beautiful breads, hosting his final weekly jazz session and playing his beloved clarinet

A devotee of the clarinet, Lee played jazz, classical, and Celtic music in Washington County and was a member of the Quoddy area's vibrant music and arts scene. A longtime member of Keltic Schmeltic, a performer at the Eastport Follies, a student at Maine Summer Keys, and a member of Eastport's monthly Jazz Jam, Lee's enthusiasm and dedication inspired many. 

Lee Vincent Suta was born on 24 January 1943 to John Suta and Dorothy Huyler. He grew up in Scotch Plains New Jersey, where Lee developed a love of cooking that was born in his grandmother Katarzyna's kitchen cooking Ukrainian food.

In high school Lee played the saxophone and began making art. First mentored by Frank Thorne, a local comic book artist, after high school he trained as a visual artist in New York City.

At the Art Students League in Midtown Manhattan Lee studied under Frank Reilly. The Reilly method informed Lee's drawing for the rest of his life. As a young artist he worked as an assistant to the noted editorial cartoonist Burris Jenkins. 

Lee met his wife Elizabeth Ostrander, a fellow art student, in Manhattan, and the couple would raise two children. His father-in-law Albert Ostrander, a scenery and technical designer for Broadway and the circus, guided Lee to join the United Scenic Artists trade union. 

Lee began his formal career as a scenic artist with the Metropolitan Opera, working on productions that used scenery: Broadway shows, opera, movies, and television. Between jobs the flexible union work allowed him to spend time in Washinton County, Maine.

In the late 1960s Lee followed other artistically minded people to rural Maine. Despite a career focused in the in New York City area, Lee always returned to his Robbinston house and finally moved there full time.

In Maine Lee felt free to live a frugal life where he explored his interests in painting, photography, woodworking, sewing, cooking, construction, and music. In the mid-1970s Lee was commissioned by the Wabanaki Bilingual Education Program and illustrated a series of books featuring Passamaquoddy versions of the Kolushap (Glooskop) legends and other tribal stories. Lee was an early member of the Eastport Art Gallery and had many art shows all over Washington County. 

In midlife Lee reconnected with his youthful musical interests, devoting his playing hours to the clarinet. An enthusiastic student, Lee was especially grateful to the accomplished musicians whose instruction he sought. Communicating with his friends through the universal language of music, playing became profoundly important to him and extended the quality of his life because of the joy it brought him.

Lee is survived by his daughter Louisa Suta, his son Oran Suta and three grandchildren, his wife Elizabeth Ostrander, his best friends Lisa Jackson and Bo Bradstreet-Connor, as well as the local community he cherished.