KANE'OHE — In the 1950s Robert T.Y. Lee was the youngest drag racer at the Kahuku drag strip. In 2003 the retired United Airlines pilot was one of the oldest drag racers at Hawaii Raceway Park.

Lee, who had a lifelong love of fast cars and flying, died on Monday after an 11-year battle with cancer. He was 68.

Lee was born on May 20, 1938, in Pu'unene Hospital and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu in 1956. He joined the Air Force right out of high school, said Rebecca Ward Lee, his wife of 23 years and president of Ward Research Inc.

He returned to Hawai'i after leaving the Air Force in 1960 and started Jupiter Airways air taxi service, which was one of the first to fly into Ka'anapali, Maui, Ward Lee said. He also provided air transportation for the state Department of Health and to Kalaupapa, a settlement where people with Hansen's disease were banished in the 1800s.

He began flying for Aloha Airlines in 1963 and later flew for United. He retired as a captain in 1995 after he was diagnosed with cancer.

"He had an incredibly strong will and determination," Ward Lee said. "I had such admiration for how he handled all of those years, particularly the very recent past.

"He was the consummate professional as an airline pilot. One of the things that was very endearing was he really was a pilot who valued everyone in an organization. No one's job was more important than anyone else's."

Lee was very committed to his family of six children from a previous marriage and maintained close ties with his former wife, Sandra Lei Lee, Ward Lee said.

"He and his first wife, Sandy, raised our kids to value family and doing things together as a family," she said. "Togetherness was very important to him."

And so was his German shepherd, Paka, who often was left in his Dodge Ram with the engine running and the air conditioner blasting to keep the dog cool as Lee dined at Zippy's in Kailua.

Lee is survived by his wife, Rebecca Ward Lee; sons, Robert, Michael and Gregory; daughters, Bonnie Lee Woods, Tracy Turner-Pain and Marnie Lee McClain; brother, Thomas; 13 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He also is survived by his former wife and lifetime friend, Sandra Lei Lee.

Visitation is at 9 a.m. Saturday at Nu'uanu Memorial Park; service is at 10 a.m. Aloha attire. Donations may be made in his memory to the Hawaiian Humane Society, 2600 Wai'alae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96826.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.