Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Lee Robert Logan was born in Los Angeles to Margaret and Melvin Logan in 1932. He has a brother, Monty. His father, a pilot for American Airlines, was noted for being the first and only pilot ever to recover a DC-4 passenger aircraft from an inverted upside down position with engines feathered, and safely landed the airplane with no fatalities. Lee had a close relationship with his parents and throughout his life, his work ethic was greatly influenced by his father.

Lee graduated from Dorsey High School and entered UCLA as an engineering student. His father convinced him that dentistry would be the direction to go. So, Lee switched to pre-dental at UCLA and after three years, he was accepted into Northwestern University Dental School.

He graduated with his DDS and then entered the Navy as a reserve Dental Officer, serving in Adak, Alaska. While there, he survived a major earthquake in the region of the Aleutians.

After serving our country proudly, Lee returned to California and worked with a dentist in Reseda. In the same complex, Dick Wittwer was practicing orthodontics and Lee was interested in his work. Lee eventually worked for Dick, removing and placing archwires and tracing headfilms.

With his new interest, Lee applied for graduate orthodontics at his dental school alma mater, Northwestern University. While waiting for the next class to convene, he worked as a hygienist for nine months. In 1959, he was accepted into the residency program and completed his MS in Orthodontics in 1961. Lee returned to California and began his own practice with basic equipment, as he used a bulb syringe for air and a hand torch for soldering. Two years later, he moved his successful practice to Northridge. Lee found joy in his work by creating beautiful smiles for his patients. He loved to help people and he loved his work as an orthodontist. Anyone who has a smile will always be a part of him.

In 1971, a ride on an elevator changed his life with "One lucky moment in time." He stepped onto the elevator in the apartment building where they were living and it was on that elevator where he met Maxine a.k.a Corki. He was riding up the elevator and Maxine was riding down. He was the most magnificent man that Maxine had ever seen. Lee was wearing a Superman T-shirt and there was something special about him. They went their separate ways that day, but Maxine thought about him often and began to ride the elevator for one week straight hoping to see him again. When he stepped onto the elevator, he took her phone number and a week later, the couple went to dinner in Calabasas and then out dancing. While they were dancing, her ring linked onto his cufflinks and they've been together ever since. She was his princess and he was her prince. The couple married in 1973 and they designed their future home on a pad of paper while on their honeymoon.

Their marriage was special, Maxine and Lee went out every Friday night and called it their date night. He sent her red roses on every special occasion and "just because". Lee never left the house without saying, "Goodbye, I love you." Maxine was truly the love of his life and the song that captured his love for her was "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Once every summer, Lee, Maxine, and their two sons Chad & Casey spent a week in Santa Barbara, UCSB. He loved spending time with his sons flying model airplanes, sharing his love of cars and taking them to Butterfly Valley to find fossils.

Lee was an avid surfer. Hobie Alter, of Dana Point, made a 10'6" surfboard for Lee many years ago. After successfully catching a big wave one day, he coined the phrase " Stoked," which was derived from Lee's hot-rod background of "stroked" engines. Throughout his life, Lee loved to play tennis and golf. He was extremely fit his entire life, never was sick and always looked at least ten years younger than his age. He liked reading informational books on orthodontics, cars, vitamins, and exercising. A fitness buff, he jogged every morning and took a variety of vitamins to be healthy. His favorite food was salmon and he barbequed the best ribs in the world. His favorite beverages were red wine and coffee. He believed in healing stones because of Maxine. He enjoyed having the best tennis racquet, golf clubs and the newest running shoes on the market, but he was not extravagant and simply lived life and loved helping people.

Lee liked to be a handyman at home on the weekends, cleaning the pool every day and trimming the vines by the house. He enjoyed getting into the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine to relax, and loved to listen to his favorite rock and roll music. He enjoyed music by Barbra Streisand, Temptations, the Platters, and a variety of 50s music. One of his favorite songs to dance to was "Bad, Bad Leroy (LEE) Brown".

A giving man, he loved to throw parties. He especially loved to be the host. He made sure everyone had their wine and was enjoying the party. Lee was a jokester, a character and he loved to laugh. He always made himself laugh with his own jokes and especially his "puns". He enjoyed watching the HBO comedy show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, because it made him laugh. A handsome man, he was often mistaken for Robert Culp, Peter Fonda and Jimmy Dean.

More than 25 years ago, in honor of his friend, Harvey, whose son was autistic, Lee was a part of a 5-K walk/run to raise money for Autism. The event was recently named after him, and it is now known as "Logan's Run." He was awarded "The National Philanthropic Medal," and The Autistic Society honored Lee and Maxine as "Man and Woman of the Year." Giving and serving his community was a way of life for him.

No man could have loved his wife and family more than Dr. Lee Robert Logan. He was a wonderful husband, father and friend. He was supportive of his kids, active in their lives and interested in everything they were involved in. Lee was open and always said, "I love you." In fact, his last words to his family were the words, "I love you." Lee loved his wife, his children and his practice.

Lee was a noted orthodontist, researcher, author, lecturer, and inventor. He was listed in the 2008 Top Dentists of America and he was the Chief of Staff of the Dental Department of Northridge Hospital. He had one U.S. patent and six international orthodontic patents and he was listed in all publications of Who's Who including Who's Who in the World. He received many other accomplishments and believed in taking an active role in the world of furthering orthodontics, lecturing at USC-UCLA, attending all current ortho meetings and continuing education.

About his work, Lee said, "My mission is to maximize the life changing impact on each patient by creating championship smiles, through the art and science of orthodontics together with caring relationships to form smiles of beauty, health, confidence and success." He truly fulfilled his mission in life.

Never retiring from his work, Lee worked until the Thursday before his passing. He was a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association, American Association of Orthodontists, World Federation of Orthodontists, and the San Fernando Valley Orthodontic Study Club. Orthodontics and the Angle Society have greatly benefited from Lee's leadership and generous contributions made to the profession. His purpose in life was creating beautiful smiles for thousands of patients. His office was really a family and he truly knew everyone because he treated them like family.

Lee was a man whose focus was on everybody else. He was a stoic man who never let his family and friends know he was ill. He never wanted anyone to worry. If you did something for him, he was so gracious about it and always said thank you. He loved to make people smile or give them something to smile about. His most recent holiday card featured his office staff's dogs that were all smiling.

Lee will be laid to rest with the Superman and Superwoman dolls that he gave to Maxine because he always said, "this is me and you", along with a tennis ball, a special keychain given to him by Maxine that he carried with him for 37 years, and letters from his family. Lee will best be remembered as a precious, kind, special, humble man. His gift was in giving. Lee was a gentleman's gentleman. He took care of Maxine and wanted her to have the best of everything in life and she did because she had him. His advice to everyone: Be happy and healthy. His family will miss everything about him, especially his presence. Maxine will carry with her an eternal love made in heaven because they were truly soulmates. His sons have inherited his kind disposition along with all the wonderful traits that made him special. Lee's life will remain in the present tense because he will live forever through his wife and his children. Maxine will always see his face every day in their sons.

Lee is loved and remembered by his wife Maxine; sons Chad, Casey and Scott; grandchildren; sister-in-laws Irene and Debbie, extended family and relatives, co-workers, office staff, dentists, friends and thousands of patients.

Memorial donations are welcome in Dr. Lee Logan's name to his three favorite charities: The Jay Nolan Program (www.jaynolan.org), Juvenile Diabetes (www.jdrf.org), and Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Breast Cancer (ww5.komen.org).