Never one for the spotlight, Sheila Lee was pivotal to her husband, Byron Lee’s remarkable success. Her daughter, Julianne, said her role in the development of Jamaican music is understated.

Sheila Lee died on June 6 at age 83 in South Florida.

“She was a strong woman who helped build the (music) industry and helped formalise copyright and intellectual property when she brought down Paul Marshall from New York to teach artistes at Dynamic (Sounds),” Julianne told Observer Online. “While Byron was able to tour 45 weeks out of the year, she was the anchor and the point of contact.”

Byron Lee, founder of Dynamic Sounds and Jamaica Carnival, died in November 2008 at age 73. He and Sheila were married for 41 years.

She was born Sheila Khouri in Kingston, the eldest of 10 children in a family of Lebanese heritage. Her father Michel was a cousin to Kenneth Khouri, a pioneer of the Jamaican music business who owned Federal Records.

A graduate of Immaculate Conception High School, Sheila met Byron Lee through their ties with the Nasrallas, another Jamaican family with Lebanese roots. During the ska craze of the early 1960s, she accompanied Lee’s band The Dragonaires to shows, performing the popular ska dance.

Tommy Cowan worked with Dynamic Sounds as a marketing executive during the 1970s. He spoke of Sheila’s business skills, which helped make that company a thriving venture.

“Sheila was very concerned about discipline of artistes and their approach to the business of music, especially when they weren’t aware of their rights and with this in mind formed Sheila Music, a publishing company,” said Cowan. “She was a driving force behind The Dragonaires band and also gave me support as the marketing manager of Dynamics in productions such as the Christmas reggae albums, Eric Donaldson and to some extent Adina Edwards.”

Sheila Khouri Lee is survived by daughters Judy, Julianne and Danielle, three grandchildren; three stepchildren, four brothers and four sisters. She was pre-deceased by one brother.

Her thanksgiving service is scheduled for June 19 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness in Pembroke Pines, Florida.