- Dorothy Alene "Lee" Lewis, was born in Jay, Oklahoma on February 25, 1929. (Lee was her Nickname). She left us on August 4, 2020 when the Lord decided to take her home to be with Him.
Those who wish to view her remains can do so on Monday, August 10, from 10 am to 12 pm at Solie Funeral Home on Colby in Everett. A graveside service will be conducted on Tuesday, August 11, at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Everett, WA.
Lee was a kind hearted, elegantly beautiful lady of integrity. Even in her late 80's, both men and women commented on her beauty. Many likened her to some of Hollywood's most beautiful stars.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and loved a good joke. Lee had a magnetic personality that seemed to draw people to her. Her husband once told her she was like honey in the midst of bear country. Some men young enough to be her grandsons were attracted to her. Women also considered her to be a friend and someone they could confide in.
She had a special love for children. She was known to hide abused women and their children in her home. In the nineteen eighties she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award for her work with abused women and children. While living in California she was a Sunday school teacher, then went on to become Children's Pastor in a church there.
In her younger years she was very adventurous. She worked at many different jobs. She managed a restaurant, where she met her husband Bill. From there she worked as advertising manager on a chain of five newspapers in the Wichita, Kansas area. She was a photography model and did professional photography portrait oil painting before color photography became available. She later worked in construction in Alaska and Washington State. At times in Alaska she worked as a traffic controller all alone on a highway in the mountains above Valdez, where early one morning, when traffic was sparse, she came face to face with a grizzly bear. She stood very still, said a little prayer and a little later the bear disappeared into the shoulder high blueberry bushes. A truck driver who drove by saw the bear near her and alerted her boss when he got down to the work site. Her boss doubted the truck drivers report until later when he saw the bear himself and exclaimed, "Oh, sheeeet, he's as big as a horse."
Lee was artistically talented and enjoyed designing, landscaping, flower arranging, writing cute kids songs and poetry, doing crossword puzzles and singing, when, as a child, she took awards for voice contests. She enjoyed dancing and water skiing. In more recent years she liked to play the slots at the casino. When she won a substantial amount she would send cash to needy people.
She liked to sit on a creek bank and fish and just enjoy God's lush green forests. She loved helping people and was quick to help whenever she saw a need. Many called her their Angel.
She was first married at the young age of fourteen. She gave birth three years later to Michael, called "Mickey" and later to his brother William, called "Bill". That marriage failed and she later married Joe Gandy who adopted Mickey and Bill and gave them the last name of Gandy. She then gave birth to a third son, Dana. That marriage also failed and she later married William Lewis. Both of her sons Mickey and Bill preceded her in death.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 58 years, William Lewis, who dedicated himself to be her tireless protector and caregiver in the last years of her life, her third and youngest son Dana Gandy and his wife Galina, who live in Oregon and were always very loving and attentive, step-son Doug Sharp and his wife Sharon of Arlington, Washington, Grandchildren Steven Gandy, Kaila Gandy, Vanessa Gandy Jackson, Tatyana Shronk, Great grandchildren Abbigail Gandy, Joshua Gandy. Henry Jackson and Robert Carlson the 5th. Also surviving her is her life-long soul-sister, Norma Shelton of Caldwell, Kansas.
She dearly loved each member of her family and considered them precious. It was very important to her to be a "fun" grandma to her grandchildren. When they were kids she would play and sing and read with them. When they became older she would surprise them with "just cause" letters containing money gifts.
Wherever Lee lived she planted flowers and made her surroundings a beautiful sight, as in their last residence. When Bill retired she would envision a lovely waterfall or fountain scene for their yard and, because he loved her and wanted to please her, Bill would add his ideas and hard labor to it and eventually they would get it done.
Through all the years, Lee has been a joy and an inspiration, a steadying factor and the glue that holds this family together. Her selflessness, always putting others needs and feelings before her own, and her love that knew no boundaries, (neither could be quenched by obstacles), was the hallmark of her existence and the source that produced a radiance at her presence. She will be always in our hearts and sorely missed by all who have known and loved her.
February 25, 1929 - August 4, 2020
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1929 - 2020 (91 years)
