Samuel Lee Crisp

Samuel “Lee” Crisp, age 72, of Lexington, NC passed away at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC on June 9, 2024.  He was born on November 29, 1951, adopted and raised by loving parents, Samuel Gordon Crisp and Hazel Proctor Crisp.  Later in life, Lee was able to reconnect with his birth mother, Dixie Herring Nash, with whom he remained close.

Lee is survived by his loving wife of almost 40 years, Nancy Hamilton Crisp; his daughter Stacy Crisp Ogburn and husband Kevin; his bonus sons Jeff McGowan and wife Ashley, and Scott McGowan; grandsons Bryant McGowan and wife Liza, and Blake McGowan; granddaughter Kendra Leazer; great-grandsons Aiden Cullum and Jacob Cullum; and his fur babies Tilley and Penny.

In addition to all of his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Alice Elizabeth “Betsy” Poland.

Lee grew up in Pinetops, NC and graduated from South Edgecombe High School.  After working for Hickory Springs Manufacturing, followed by Schaefer Iron Works, he began a career in the insurance industry.  He remained a dedicated insurance agent and the owner of multiple Summit Insurance Agencies until retiring a few years ago.

Lee/Crispy Critter/Big Daddy/Yosemite Sam was truly a character like no other.  Once you met him, you could never forget him.  He was boisterous, big-hearted, funny and had an opinion about everything, even if he knew nothing about the subject.  He was fiercely loyal to his family and his friends and would do anything possible for them.  Lee loved spending time with Nancy.  They traveled extensively together and, in recent years, enjoyed taking off on adventures in their motorhome.  Whenever he wasn’t with his (extremely patient) wife or spending time with family, you could usually find him with friends on the golf course at Sapona or playing pool with his buddies at AmVets Post 13.

We’re almost certain he was a cowboy in a previous life.  He enjoyed all Westerns (even the really bad ones) and watched every episode of The Wild Wild West, no matter how many times he had seen them before. Years back, Lee played the role of Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd in the Piedmont Players Theatre production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and he was fantastic.  We think he harbored a secret belief that he was somehow related to or actually was Burt Reynolds.  He thought Smokey and the Bandit was one of the best and funniest movies of all time and he may have been right about that one.

He liked beach music and wasn’t too bad of a shagger in his prime.  He was a fan of NASCAR, classic cars, boiled peanuts, Vienna sausages, good gravy of any kind, banana pudding, a delicious ribeye, cold beer and fine Tennessee whiskey.  He loved children and dogs, and they loved him back.  He always enjoyed a good joke, even if it was at his own expense.  He was full of “Lee-isms” which cracked us up on a regular basis, like when he would get a “sammich” for lunch or he needed some “lip blam” because his lips were chapped.  He was definitely one of a kind.

As most of you know, Lee often used colorful language.  One of his favorite country songs was “Some Beach” performed by Blake Shelton.  It always made him laugh, especially because the title was very similar to one of his favorite expletives.  Like the chorus in the song, we hope this is exactly where he is, since leaving us all behind ---- “Some beach, somewhere, there’s a big umbrella casting shade over an empty chair, palm trees are growin’ and warm breezes blowin’, I picture myself right there, on some beach, somewhere.”  He will be greatly missed.

A Celebration of Life service for Lee will be announced and held at a later date for everyone to attend.  The family encourages any memorial donations in his name be made to the Pastor’s Pantry of Davidson County or the Davidson County Animal Alliance.