Family and friends are devastated at the passing of Lee Howard Wyckoff (age 43) of Mineral, VA and his 9-month-old daughter, Coral Anna Wyckoff, in a tragic plane crash on July 25, 2020 in West Jordan, Utah. While their deaths were unexpected, Lee and Coral, in her brief time, lived life to the fullest. Every day was filled with adventures, experiences and lives that they influenced.
Coral was born to Lee and Rebecca “Becky” Wyckoff on November 7, 2019 in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Her beautiful smile lit up the entire room. Coral was crawling and getting into all her brothers’ toys. She happily babbled away to anyone who would listen. She spent many hours playing in Lake Anna. She is survived, never to be forgotten, by her mother, Becky, her siblings Skylar and Cody, the Wyckoff and Boice families, especially grandparents, Elizabeth “Betty” Boice of Fenelton, Pennsylvania and Bernadette “Bunnie” and Gerald “Gerry” Wyckoff of Bumpass, Virginia.
Lee was born on August 19, 1976 in Alexandria, Virginia, to Bunnie and Gerry Wyckoff. In 1994, he graduated from Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, and four years later he graduated from Maryland's Towson University with a BS in Accounting. While working full-time for KPMG, Lee somehow found time to take classes at Johns Hopkins University, and in 2003 he graduated Summa Cum Laude with an MS in Engineering, Information Systems, and Technology. Lee grew up in Maryland, and later lived in Northern Virginia, Lake Anna, Virginia, Colorado, and Utah.
His professional career was diverse including senior positions with KPMG, CareFirst, BlueCross BlueShield, Genworth Financial, WellPoint, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Entrepreneur's Organization. Lee served as the first Inspector General for the State of Utah, where he oversaw a team tasked with rooting out medicaid fraud. It was during this period that Lee developed a deep love for, and strong ties to the State of Utah.
Lee lived life with a unique appreciation for how precious happy moments with friends are. He was spontaneous and vivacious. He loved skiing and did it with a childlike joy. He loved paragliding until he loved being around his family more. He learned to fly to make it easier to visit his oldest daughter Skylar. He wanted to be able to make it to her dance recital or just be there for her when she needed him. He loved flying and learning about planes. It was a family adventure traveling by plane and he amassed hundreds of hours visiting Skylar and going on spontaneous vacations.
Lee learned to wakeboard and was sponsored for a bit when he was a younger man riding on Lake Anna in contests with some lifelong friends. He developed a lifetime love of Lake Anna and when he left Utah and came back to the lake, he met the love of his life Becky.
After LT Rebecca Boice, USCGR completed a deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Lee and Becky married overlooking the lake, on November 25, 2017. They shared so many hobbies including scuba, travel, wakeboarding, snow sports and motorcycling together. Cody was born June 9, 2018 and Coral quickly followed. Out of all the adventures and achievements, Lee was most proud of being a family man; a loving husband to Becky, and devoted father to Skylar, Cody, and Coral. He lived and breathed for his family, and he wanted his children to develop the same love for sports and adventures that he and Becky had. Whether teaching Skylar to ski, Cody to swim or snuggling with Coral, he treasured those moments.
Lee was passionate about all his varied interests and strived to be the very best he could be at any of them. In paragliding, he participated in world championships.
He prided himself on being able to fix anything. The whole family would play down in the garage as he taught Cody and Skylar and Becky about different engines fixing up go carts for the kids or small outboard engines for dinghies on the lake. For Lee this was just another opportunity for his family to be together and continue to learn and grow together.
Lee is survived by his wife Becky, his parents, Bunnie and Gerry Wyckoff of Bumpass VA, his siblings, Shawn Wyckoff (Maria Millar) of Toronto, Ontario and Tara Wyckoff Martin (Peter), and his children, Skylar and Cody.
Lee Wyckoff is not easily forgotten by anyone who met him. His over the top personality, quick smile, and big heart will keep him in our thoughts long, long after his body is gone. He went out doing something he loved.
Arrangements were handled by the Memorial Redwood Mortuary and Cemetery of West Jordan, Utah. A celebration of Lee and Coral's life will be held in Utah and at Lake Anna as soon as Becky and Cody are healed enough to participate. Details will be shared so that anyone who wants to can attend.
In lieu of flowers, there are several nonprofits that help in areas that Lee was passionate about and one new, the burn unit that has helped Becky and Cody to recover. Please consider donating if you are able to.
seavalor.org (This is Lee’s close friend Eric’s non-profit that uses sailing to help people with PTSD)
healthcare.utah.edu/foundation/give.php (This is the burn unit donation site just select Burn Unit)
A celebration of Lee and Coral's life will be held on Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 11:00 AM Elk Creek Baptist Church Pavilion Mineral, Virginia. Please reach out to the family for further details.