Clear, 54° F
(Feb. 14, 2006)
Allene M. Lee joined her sweetheart, Jan, on Valentine’s Day. She died Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Powell Valley Hospital at the age of 84.
She was born Jan. 21, 1922, in Cody, daughter of Mabel and Glen Newton. She had an older sister, Francis, and a younger brother, Glen Jr.
She graduated from Cody High School and attended the University of Wyoming then transferred and received her teaching certificate from Eastern Normal College in Billings, Mont., in 1940. While there, she met Hjalmer (Jan) Lee, and they were married Oct. 14, 1941. They spent a few years in California on the West Coast during WWII where Jan served in the Army and then worked as a surveyor for the Army.
They moved to Cody where Jan worked for Rocky Mountain Gas and then to Frannie in 1953 after they purchased Frannie Gas, which later became Frannie Deaver Utilities. She has lived in Frannie ever since.
She was active in the communities of Frannie and Deaver and spent one year teaching FHA at Deaver High School when the adviser was on leave due to an illness in the family. She was awarded the FHA Mother of the Year that year. Always the perfect host, she treated company like family and family like company. She was a great lover of music and lent her talents as a violinist to the Northwest Civic Orchestra for many years.
Her family remembers her "pioneer spirit," her sweetness, and her lack of complaining. She was the quintessential "good sport" and never wanted to put anyone out.
Survivors include a daughter, Sherry Keeler of Moses Lake, Wash., and two grandsons, Carson and Matt Keeler; a son, Bryan Lee (Laurie) of Frannie, two granddaughters Shannon and Austin Lee, and a grandson Taylor Lee (Tiana) and great-granddaughter Gabrielle.
She was preceded in death by her husband Hjalmer Lee and her sister Francis and brother Glen.
Funeral services are scheduled Monday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Powell under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Cody.
