Life Member 163
Clayton (Lee) Vannes
February 20, 2021 was a very sad day for the JCSE Veterans Association. On this day, JCSE Veterans Association Life Member #163, Colonel (retired) Clayton Lee Vannes, passed away after a valiant battle with Cancer. Lee was a Patriot Warrior; leader; visionary of military jointness; mentor of peers & subordinates; & a giant of a man amongst men. He was the JCSE Chief of Operations as a Major in the mid-1970s. Lee commanded and/or held key positions at every level including an assignment at Army Headquarters in the Pentagon as the Deputy Director of Architecture where he was responsible for acquiring, integrating and interoperability of Army information and automation systems. In 2014, Lee was recognized as a Distinguished Member of the Army’s Signal Regiment. He completed a 34+ year military career as the J6 - Director of Communications for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
Obituary
Clayton Lee Vannes
Tampa, FL - VANNES, Clayton Lee, 83, of Tampa, FL, passed away Saturday February 20, 2021, at home. Lee was a native of Green Bay, WI, and resident of Tampa, FL, since 1994. He graduated with a Biology degree from St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI, Class of 1962.After serving 6 years in the WI Army Reserves, Lee was commissioned as a 2LT in the US Army Signal Corps. He obtained a Master's Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.
He served 33 years in the US Army (Signal Corps and Special Forces), retiring as a Colonel in 1990. Lee was a kind, generous, and caring man who went out of his way to help and mentor others. This is exemplified through his endowed scholarships at Bellin College (School of Nursing) and St. Norbert College, as well as his active support of several military associations.
Lee was preceded in death by his first wife, Antoinette "Toni", his parents Norman and Charlotte Vannes of Green Bay, WI, and his brother Wayne Vannes. He is survived in death by: his wife of 13 years, Norma Bloomberg Vannes; his four daughters, Victoria Vannes, Robin Vannes, Amy Tuschen and her husband Bryan Tuschen, Heather Vannes and her partner Tony Catalano; his eight grandchildren, Tyler, Maygen, Austin, Morgan, Matthew, Bailey, Jordyn, and Nicole; and his siblings, Dale Vannes and wife Kay Vannes, Lynn Vannes Skar, Jean Snyder and husband Al Snyder, and Donna Vannes (sister-in-law).
A funeral Mass was celebrated for the repose of his soul at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor, FL and internment at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations to either the Clayton Lee Vannes Endowed Scholarship (Saint Norbert College: https://giving.snc.edu/, designate scholarship fund # 320238), or the Special Forces Association 60, Tampa Chapter LX https://specialforces.org/donate/
Posted online on February 23, 2021 Published in Green Bay Press Gazette
