||| FROM RICH LEE |||
Kate Lee (1942-2024) passed away peacefully on the 5th of May at Lighthouse Memory Care in Anacortes after a long and valiant battle with dementia. Kate was born in Willowbrook, California to Jayne and Dickson Williams, and was raised in Pendleton, Oregon.
She had a long and happy career as an elementary school teacher starting right after she graduated from Eastern Oregon College in La Grande, Oregon. Her teaching assignments included classrooms in Lompoc and Ventura, California, Scappoose and Gresham, Oregon, and Juneau, Alaska. Kate also spent time as a legislative aide in Salem, Oregon and as a researcher with the Alaska Public Interest Group in Anchorage, Alaska, before moving to Juneau where she spent many years as a classroom teacher in the Juneau-Douglas Elementary School.
Kate retired from teaching in 1989 and settled on Orcas Island where she stayed for almost 34 years. Kate had many devoted friends and was known for her warmth, humor and generosity. She leaves behind her husband, Richard Lee, a brother, Dickson Williams of Logan, Utah, a sister, Marilyn Ritchey of Boise, Idaho, three stepchildren, three step grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
At her request no funeral services are planned. She wished that any donations in her memory be made to the Orcas Island Community Foundation, as she loved her time on Orcas greatly.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
Our deepest condolences, Rich.
The word that springs to mind when I think of Kate is delight. She delighted in the natural world, in her family, and in her community with a smile and a twinkle in her eye, followed by a kind and encouraging word. I am so grateful our orbits aligned on Orcas. Love to you, Rich, and all who loved Kate. I will see her in the stars.
I had the pleasure of working with and getting to know Kate during her time at the library. One of the sweetest, kindest women I have ever know. And she loved you very much Rich, so sorry for your loss