Obituary of Ernest Leland Courtright

Services will be Wednesday, August 5th for Ernest Leland "Lee" Courtright who passed away on July 23, 2015 surrounded by his family. Lee was born August 31, 1938 the son of Ernest Leland "Pete" Courtright, Sr. and Mary Evelyn Snapp Courtright of San Jose. Lee spent his early years living in Santa Cruz and then Salinas before the family settled in Willow Glen. He attended Willow Glen High School where he played football and was a star athlete on the track team. Lee attended Cal Berkeley and graduated from San Jose State with his bachelors of science in political science. It was at Cal in Italian class where he met the love of his life and his future wife Lynne. They began their married life June 30, 1962, and he entered the auto business in the Bay Area. They decided to raise their family and make their home in Santa Cruz. Lee became an auto dealer in 1972, and at the time was the one of the youngest automobile dealers in the United States. Lee was politically active speaking before Congress as a representative of the automobile industry and locally as a member of the zoning board in Santa Cruz. He was an active Rotarian and especially enjoyed chairing the scholarship program. Recently he had been serving on the Dominican Hospital Foundation Board, which is developing plans for a healing garden. Lee was a very loving and supportive husband, father and grandfather, and he was a role model to many. He enjoyed traveling, fishing, boating, and most of all spending time with his family. Lee especially loved vacationing with his family on Maui and at their home in Lake Tahoe. He took great pleasure walking a stream fly fishing. Some special memories are fly fishing in Argentina, Kiribati, Alaska, the Bahamas and Montana with his son, Jim. Lee is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lynne Gaylord Courtright, his son and daughter-in-law Jim and Kassy Courtright and their children Nicholas, Jack and Samantha, his daughter and son-in law Molly and Patrick Shields and their children Conor and Summer all of Santa Cruz, his brother John Courtright, his uncles Raymond Spencer Snapp and Bill Snapp, aunts Pegi DiBari and Roberta Nigro, several cousins and countless wonderful friends. He will be missed, loved, and remembered by the many he touched throughout his life! In Lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Santa Cruz Rotary Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 497, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 or the Dominican Hospital Foundation, 1555 Soquel Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95065. A memorial service for Lee will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. at the Oakwood Crystal Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Rd., Santa Cruz.