WILMINGTON — Robert Dean Lem, born on September 9, 1940, in Kinston, NC, decided to cast his final fishing line and dance his last shag on August 17, 2024, in Wilmington, NC. At the ripe age of 83, Robert gracefully departed this world due to natural causes, leaving behind a legacy filled with laughter, love, and an uncanny ability to find the perfect fishing spot.
Robert was a man of simple pleasures; he found joy in reeling in a big catch and cutting a rug at Shagging at SOS in N. Myrtle Beach. His passions were as timeless as his humor, and though he didn’t leave behind any notable achievements, he did leave a lifetime of memories that will make you chuckle every time you think of him.
Preceded in death by his parents, David Chow Lem and Ruby Wells Lem, Robert’s spirit lives on through his surviving family: his son, Robert Lem, Jr., and wife Amy; his daughter Wally Ann Haley; his sister, Beverly Lem, and husband Bill West of Carolina Beach; and his brother, David Edwin Lem, and wife Sharon of High Point, NC. He also leaves behind his beloved granddaughters, Stacey and Naomi, and three great-grandchildren, who are sure to inherit his witty charm and love for life.
The services for Robert Dean Lem will be announced at a later date, but until then, raise a glass, tell a joke, or maybe go fishing in his honor. After all, it’s what he would have wanted.
