Ending Speed Violence for Lee

Speeding Violence

Over 25% of all fatal crashes in North Carolina are related to speeding (Source: NCDOT).

Over the last 5 years, 1,852 people were killed in speeding crashes on NC roads (Source: NC Vision Zero Safety Dashboard).

About Lee

By: David Counter, Lee’s Husband, NCFSS Member

Lee Strode 11.26.1968 – 12.23.2021

Lee was born in Midlothian, Virginia, and even as a child showed herself to be an eternal optimist. Very much a “glass half full” person, she would wake her parents early (very early!) on a regular basis and tell them it was  a “beautiful sunny day.” From an early age she declared her intention to fix the ills that she saw. With this demeanor, it should come as no surprise that she favored bright, sunny colors throughout her life.

I met Lee in Florida in 2009. She had an apartment in Clearwater, and was heavily involved in a local Celtic society – a pervasive love of all things Celtic that was reflected by the bagpiper who led us onto the beach where we married in 2010. 

In her professional life, Lee was a self-taught data analyst manager. Self-taught in the sense that she excelled at seeing how operations could be performed more efficiently, and learned whatever skills it took to reach that goal. Although by her nature modest to a fault, she had been nationally recognized for her programming skills and – as has been acknowledged by her former colleagues – played a pivotal role in mentoring careers and shaping lives. Her interpersonal skills were a constant amazement. It was due to these facts that she was frequently seen as a Subject Matter Expert when it came to coding and creating spreadsheets or presentations. Her advice was sought my many.

In her personal life, Lee loved nothing more than to think of herself as a geek, delighting in her interest in science-fiction! She explored her creative talents by learning to crochet and taking charge of interior decorating duties at our house, though later in her life her real passion became self-improvement. This was achieved partly through her following of Buddhist teachings, but mostly by her avid pursuit of improving her fitness. Many is the time that I recall her counting the calories in each separate meal, Her strict health regimen only got more admirable when one took into account the fact that she would get up at 6.00 each morning in order to get in an hour of water aerobics before preparing for a full work day. It was through this twin-pronged approach that Lee became, in the words of her brother, a happier and healthier individual than he had seen in decades.

In short, Lee was a beautiful person inside and out, and is missed terribly. Her passing is a loss to everyone whom she met, however briefly.