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In Memoriam Paul Zi-Fang Lee Ph.D.

Paul Zi-Fang Li Ph.D., 86, a resident of Tallahassee for 42 years, passed away Saturday, 20 April 2024, in Tallahassee. Paul was born June 30 1937, in Shanghai, China, to Teresa Lan Feng and Joseph Fen Lee.

He came to Tallahassee from China to study for his Ph.D. in Geology at FSU, accompanied by his late wife Gabrielle Wu Lee, an accomplished artist. Both were devout Christians, happy to escape at last from the persecution and discrimination they suffered at the hands of the Communists. In Tallahassee, they joined the Catholic Church of the Blessed Sacrament. After earning his Ph.D., Paul worked as a geologist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, with primary focus on protecting groundwater. He co-authored a number of scientific publications, and was an avid inventor. His notable inventions include a step-less variable ratio transmission, a scheme for rapid recharging of electric vehicles by battery-swapping, and a device for measuring seepage between surface and ground water.

Paul is survived by: William “Bil” Myers of Tallahassee, whom Paul and Gabrielle considered a son; his brother, Ziping Lee; his niece Shihong (Terri) Lee; and nephews Sihau (Chris) Lee and Joseph Lee Paul and Gabrielle had many close friends in Tallahassee.

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