After all the grief and heartache felt by the brotherhood this last week, I thought it would be better to celebrate his life. So please use this thread for the stories, memories, and laughter and praise for a man who seemed to touch every member of the TBH family and anyone else he met along the way.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Celebrate the life of John "Tuthdoc" Lee
Collapse
X
-
I did not know TD but have read some of his post, he seemed to be a great guy. I just want to tell all of the TBH group how proud I am of you all, and how great it is to be a part of the group. Whenever someone is in need of anything including prayer everyone steps up. God bless Toothdoc and his family and God bless all of the TBH members.
Comment
-
As many have said, John had so much knowledge and shared it so willingly with the rest of us, he was the Wikipedia of deer on the GS. His deer aging discussions were always so impressive to me that I often saved them on my computer to go back and reference. Here's a few threads saved to my server from before the crash.... circa 2002-3003.
Aging Deer by Tuthdoc1
Aging Deer by Tuthdoc2
In this one, dated November 2002, he talks about his daughter's fiance' (who we all know now as Mailman-Matt) and a buck he was gonna put on his hit list.
Aging Deer by Tuthdoc3
An amazing man.....
Comment
-
Yesterday might have been the toughest day, after going through all the emotions and watching the end, I thought I had been through the "ringer" so to speak and things would start looking up.
We take Judy back to their home from Lufkin, and I walk through that front door and laying in the living room is his bow-case and his clothes, all de-scented, and ready for the trip to Leakey. Mark and John were scheduled to leave Friday morning at 4 for the first trip on a quest for Axis. I lost it all over again. It hit me that we will never make that drive to San Angelo again with John, and that I'll never spend another night around that campfire with my Paw-In-Law...
First Meeting:
John was not there for the infamous mailbox incident. In fact his youngest brother Mark nicknamed Mailman. The mailbox got crushed in December, and John was with his brothers hunting in South Texas. I actually met John in January of 1999. I was nervous as could be, my Aunt graduated HS with John and she told me he was the meanest man that ever walked the face of the earth and there was no way that he would like me. Super, can't wait!!! (As I would later find out it was a conspiracy between John and my Aunt, even before I knew him he was giving my grief!!!)
I walk in the door and stick at my right hand and say... "Hi Doctor Lee, my name is Matt Carnathan." John's response... "So your the one that whacked my mailbox? I want you to know that if you break my little girl's heart I have 2 brothers and a .45!!!"
I wanted to jump in the truck and call it a day...
He then cracked that famous John Lee grin and said, "I am just kidding, it takes some kind of juevos to walk back up here after to you take out a mailbox, you might be worth keeping around!!!" "Second thing, never call me Doctor, I am a working man just like everyone else..."
That was my Paw-In-Law, always joking, always smiling, and always humble. He never thought he was better than anyone else.
I always had a hard time with that, and he would always tell me,
"Matt, do you know you're right?"
"Yes sir, I do it the way you and your brothers taught me!!!"
"Well then what does it matter if that other person doesn't agree, we know we are right, and they think they are right, but we'll kill more ducks, deer, geese, or whatever we are chasing!!!"
That was another lesson he taught me, he never talked down to anyone, he would just agree to disagree and move on. I never saw him talk down or up to anyone. He treated everyone exactly the same, and he lived his life the way he wanted to, to the fullest!!!
Comment
-
Thanks for sharing Matt. I wish I could've met your Paw-in-Law. Even though I never shook his hand or got to witness that smile in person, he meant a lot to me through his wisdom, humor and willingness to help anyone and everyone here on the green screen. He was certainly a "giver". I think we would all do well to strive to be more like John. Hang in there Matt. Continued prayers for you and the family.
Comment
-
Doc and I always kidded each other about Rage broadheads. He loved them. I despise them. It was always good clean fun. He knew where I stood and why and of course I knew where he stood and how could I possibly argue with his success?
The other thing I learned from Doc was his up/down method of scoring deer. Thanks Doc.
As a tribute to Doc, I will shoot the next few hogs I see with the Rage broadheads I have.
Comment
-
I always looked forward to getting to meet the man from reading his posts on here. That day finally came a few years ago at Bownanza. I spent several hours talking to John that day. The man could flat tell a story. I had the pleasure of getting to repeat that for a couple of more Bownanza's. I think it was year before last when Tink was set up there. When talking to John he and I had made a comment or two about the scene. A little later I got away from him and made it over to Tink's set up. I asked Tink to autograph one of his pictures and to make it out to John. I still remember John throwing his head back and laughing when I presented him with that autographed picture of Tink. He asked me at this past Bownanza if I had anymore autographed pictures for him and then busted out laughing.
Sure wish I would have gotten to hunt with him a time or two and had always hoped that would happen one day. I still think we will get that opportunity just not the way I had planned.
Matt, Mark and Bobby y'all were lucky to have a man like John to share the woods and water with.
Comment
Comment