Lee Bradley Burswold, formerly of Park Ridge, Illinois, was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 16, 1933 to George and Evalon (Berger) Burswold, and died on February 21, 2017 of complications of pulmonary fibrosis. During his childhood years, Lee developed a love for the piano. With his parents' encouragement he turned that love into a life-long vocation and gift to all who heard him play. Lee earned bachelor of music and master of music degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he met his future wife, Barbara Mahr, a cellist and fellow music student.

Lee continued his education at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned his Ph.D. On June 16, 1962, after a whirlwind five-year courtship, Lee and Barbara were married by Barbara's father, Pastor Arthur Mahr, at Grace Lutheran Church in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The couple settled in Chicago where Lee began what became a 38-year teaching career as a tenured music professor at North Park College, now North Park University.

Lee and Barbara welcomed to their family daughters Carol, in 1964, and Anne, in 1968. Carol and Anne remember their father as a loving, devoted and steadfastly supportive parent, and grandparent of Anne's three children. Throughout his teaching career, Lee also worked actively as a free-lance pianist throughout Chicagoland. If you attended a Chicago wedding reception or banquet any time between 1962 and 2010, you more than likely were delighted by his piano stylings.

An accomplished composer, Lee wrote and arranged hundreds of pieces of piano, choral, instrumental and bell choir music; beginning and intermediate school instrumental music; orchestral and jazz creations. His music is now performed and appreciated around the world, and it brings his family great comfort to know that through his music God is glorified.

Lee is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughter Carol (Zachary) Dylan; Anne (Lendol) Calder; grandchildren Laura, Caroline and Erik Bergren; and dear family friend Patricia Conrad. To quote the poem, "Requiem," written by Patricia at Lee's death, "We praise the Lord, but quietly—our song is in a minor key."

Lee will be remembered at a memorial service at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at St. Luke's Lutheran Church at 205 North Prospect Avenue in Park Ridge, Illinois, with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the church. Pastors Richard Johnson and Alex LaChapelle will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial gifts to St. Luke's Lutheran Church or North Park University.