Obituary of Donald Lee Brandt

Donald Lee Brandt of Bartow, Florida passed away on January 4, 2017 at the age of 52. D. Lee was born in West Islip, New York to Lee & Karen Brandt on October 12, 1964.  He was the eldest of four children and spent his youth in New York, Florida, Arkansas and Georgia. After graduating from Baldwin High School in Milledgeville, Ga, he served in the United States Navy for 5 years as a Cryptologist. He graduated from Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga with an Associate of Science in Industrial Engineering in 1990. Following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps, he then worked for Grumman Aerospace also in Milledgeville for a couple years before deciding to further his education. In 1996, he graduated from Georgia College & State University, in Milledgeville, Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and went on to pursue his career as a Process Engineer in Florida. D. Lee later served as Captain in the United States Army in which his duty was Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Officer. His service spanned a total of ten years during which time he was stationed in Korea, Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar and Germany. He then continued his career and education as a production supervisor in manufacturing while pursuing his Masters in Business Administration at Grand Canyon University. Known in early life as Donald and later as Lee (as he so affectionately insisted), he was a man of many talents. He was well known for his stirring rendition of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven and was quite an established writer himself. A published poet, he revered the works of Poe, Rilke, Byron, Shelley, Keats and Fitzgerald to name but a few. Lee was a creative and pensive soul. An intellect, he had an unwavering thirst for knowledge. His interests throughout the years were vast but his focused passions lied with the arts, history and aviation. Those who knew him well could look forward to his penchant for military aviation themed shirts in their upcoming time together.  He also enjoyed adventurous pursuits such as rappelling, spelunking, scuba diving, flying radio control planes and WWII reenactments. He truly loved living life to the fullest and was deeply devoted to his family; he had a kind, loving heart and his generosity knew no bounds. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Brandt and the late Mr. Michael Dacek and Ms. Mildred Dacek. He is survived by his parents Lee & Karen Brandt and brother, Kenneth Brandt all of Merritt Island, Florida; his sister, Susanne Duys (Steven), brother, Christopher Brandt and his niece who captured his heart, Addison Kate Duys all of Marietta, Georgia. A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, February 3, 2017 at 12:30pm at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, 5525 U.S. Highway 1, Mims, Florida 32754. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Lee's life and join the family for a luncheon to follow.