Curtis Bruce Lee, age 68, of Brookings, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, at the Brookings Hospital.
 Visitation will be from 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, at Eidsness Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, also at Eidsness Funeral Home with burial in Fairview Cemetery at White, SD.  
Curtis Bruce Lee was born July 19, 1955, in Brookings, SD to Audrey and Bruce Lee. He was raised in White, SD, and graduated in 1973 from Deubrook High School.
Upon graduation he entered the US Army and was stationed for most of his service in Germany. While in Germany he traveled anytime they could to different parts of Germany exploring the country. He loved his time in Germany and was honorably discharged in 1976. He was proud to be a veteran.
After returning to South Dakota, he went to work at Viking Vans in Flandreau. In 1979 he started work at South Dakota State University in the maintenance department and worked there for 37 years until 2016 when he retired. During his time working at SDSU he did a lot of the welding and constructed some of the iron benches you see today on campus.
After Curtis’ father passed away, he never missed a Sunday dinner with his mother in White, watching football during football season. Curtis loved everything Chicago Bears. even when they couldn’t win a game. A true faithful fan!
In 2000, he bought his great aunt’s home and adopted his four-legged companion, Brandy, who lived to be the old age of 18. He loved spending time with his niece and nephew on holidays and anytime they were at Grandma’s on Sunday afternoons.
Curtis was very proud of his Ford Ranger pick-up and after retirement his favorite thing to do in the late afternoon was go for a ride to Lake Oakwood or Lake Hendricks, where he liked to fish in earlier years, to enjoy the quiet country scenery and look for wildlife. He was a simple guy and lived a simple life.
Curtis is survived by his sister, Kathy and her husband, Mark McDougall of Brookings, a nephew Cole McDougall of Portland, OR, and a niece Kara McDougall of Sioux Falls, SD.
Curtis was preceded in death by his mother, Audrey and father, Bruce, a brother, Arlyn, and his beloved cocker spaniel Brandy.