Hopefully, you were among those in Patagonia who knew Lee Katzenbach. My spouse Judy and I were, and we feel so lucky to have known him.
Lee was a wonderfully unique individual. Every element in his being was creative, prolifically creative. He made drawings and watercolors and sculptures large and small. He designed several amazing houses with no formal training in architecture. He built evocative structures from found objects. Lee was a natural artist with remarkable gifts that he shared generously. His curiosity fueled all his pursuits and was a source of happiness for him.
Lee also was a complicated guy. He was not a big talker except when he was! He made good friends and yet spent a lot of time alone. Lee’s gifts were huge but he had challenges too. He could be a bit of a curmudgeon at times. And when something upset him, he did not let it go. A part of Lee always remained a little mysterious. What was going on inside that head?
I have many good memories of times spent with Lee and Ann (Lee’s wonderful wife and former PRT editor) in Patagonia and the other places they have lived since then.
We watched the World Series on their tiny TV, especially if the Red Sox were in the hunt. We shared a number of Christmas dinners with Ann and Lee and their dog Lucy.
Lee was a regular member of the Sunday hiking group. He always found something worth looking at on those hikes.
Judy and I were patrons of his art and spent numerous days perusing his big studio next to their house on Harshaw Road for treasures.
When all the Little Free Libraries were being commissioned and sold, Judy and I bought the one that Lee made. It still sits on the corner of 3rd and McKeown, an ongoing memory of Lee.
Our last visit with Lee and Ann was in September of this year in Port Townsend, Washington. It was the Wooden Boat Show weekend. As a bigtime sailor, Lee was in his element. We are so grateful to have spent the time with them both.
When the coming of the Hermosa Mine was too much for Lee, he and Ann moved east and then west again. Judy and I visited them on the coast of Massachusetts where we stayed in another “home by Lee,” an amazing conversion of two pole barns.
Lee followed his own path. Those of us who knew him are fortunate it intersected with ours along the way.