Elizabeth S. Lee
January 7, 1928 ~ June 30, 2015 (age 87) 87 Years OldShare using:
Elizabeth (Betty) Stanley Lee (Age 87)
On Tuesday, June 30, 2015, Elizabeth Stanley Lee, of Columbia, MD, died quietly at Gilchrist Hospice in Columbia, following a stroke. In 1999 while responding to a Washington Post call for autobiographies to describe "who we were at the end of the second millennium" , our mother wrote: "My name is Elizabeth Lee. I was a first and second grade teacher for 26 years before retiring in 1990. My own two children, their children, and my hundreds of school children have been the greatest joy of my life…"
Elizabeth was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Leslie Wright Stanley and Hazel Emily Stryker Stanley. She graduated cum laude with her undergraduate degree in history, with two minors, from Penn State University in 1949. Following a move to Washington, DC, she worked for the government, first at the State Department and then at the Federal Trade Commission where she met her husband, Cleo Shepherd Lee. Following the birth of her two daughters, Jane (Hanfman) and Laura (Hanagan), she began her second career, teaching. While teaching in Prince George's County, she was certified as a teacher and earned her Master's Degree in elementary education. She loved reading British mysteries, spending time with her family, attending church and socializing with her friends.
In addition to her daughters, she is survived by her sister, Emily Josephine Drummond of Denver, Colorado and her brother, James R. Stanley of Chicago, Illinois; sons-in-law, Joe Hanfman (Jane) and Tony Hanagan (Laura); grandchildren James D. Gardner, Jr., Samantha H. Porcelli (John), Anthony J. Hanagan, Jason C. Hanfman (Holly) and Jacqueline Hanfman, and great grandchildren, Ellie and Jack Hanfman, and her very special friend and caregiver, Ebony Toppin.
A celebration of her life will be held at the chapel at Cheltenham Veteran's Cemetery on Monday, July 6, 2015 at 11 A.M. In lieu of flowers, Elizabeth requested that any memorial donations be made to the "Memorial Fund" of her church, First United Methodist Church of Laurel, 424 Main Street, Laurel, Maryland, 20707.