Sam Lee, who served in the state House of Representatives for 10 years before being succeeded by his wife, Marilyn, died today from cancer. He was 81.

A member of the U.S. Foreign Service for 26 years, Lee and his family returned to Hawaii in 1981. As chairman of the Mililani Neighborhood Board, Lee led the fight to get developers of Mililani to rid the community’s water system of pesticide contamination.

Lee was elected to the House in 1986 and was re-elected four times before choosing to retire. Marilyn Lee first won election in 1996 and has represented the Mililani district since.