Jayne Lee

Jayne Doris Gamel was born to Dr. Jay F. and Jayne Estes Gamel on September 2, 1940, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, while Capt. Gamel, newly minted United State Army officer inducted directly into the medical corps, was learning to ride a horse and wave a cavalry saber in preparation for WWII. She was joined four years later by her brother, Jay (also a junior), and four years after that by sister Janet.

Together, the family set out on an adventure that was to last a lifetime, growing up in Texas, Washington, D.C., England, Ohio’s Wright Patterson AFB, Paris, and back to Texas as a family, and later found her in Wisconsin and California before landing in Austin.

Her open heart embraced her family, relatives, in-laws and friends she made over her lifetime, leaving many people richer for having known her sharp wit, humor, and loving ways.

Growing up in middle England’s green fields and forests was perhaps the happiest time of her life, attending Oakdene school for girls from 1950 to 1953, learning to ride horses and enjoy a proper tea, while her parents navigated post-war reconstruction representing the U.S. while raising the children in British schools in the hamlets of Beaconsfield, Coleshill and High Wycombe in between London and Oxford, near fabled Sherwood Forest.

Jayne attended schools in England, Washington, D.C. and Ohio, graduating from Fairborn High School in 1958, where she sang the lead in Brigadoon for the senior play. She then attended the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She joined the family in Paris in 1960 and toured much of Europe with friends, exploring the music and culture of the City of Light, and travelled to Spain and Germany with the family.

Fishing with the family on the Chesapeake Bay many weekends in the 50s, catching fish and crabs and enjoying the feasts that followed started a lifelong fan of water, fishing, boating, sailing and swimming. She navigated summer road trips from Washington to Texas to visit grandmothers every summer, driving from D.C. to Waco and San Antonio, traversing the Smokies, Appalachia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and more on various trips.

Jayne worked for a Washington, D.C., publishing company for several years, eventually joining the family in San Antonio in 1962. She began a lifetime of working in the fields of finance and banking. She married Jim Wieding and had her only daughter Ann Alva Wieding in 1973.

She raised Ann as a single mother with the loving help of family and friends, sharing her love of cooking, traveling, animals, laughter, dancing, music, and art by bringing into their home life the culture she absorbed all her life.

She remained close to her in-laws her entire life, adopting the Wieding and Lee families as her own. Jayne and Ann always lived with a menagerie of pets wherever they were — in San Antonio and Santa Rosa, California — before settling in San Antonio, where she continued to work in banking. She met Lynn Arthur (Art) Lee and they discovered a mutual love of the outdoors, camping, fishing, and their respective families. Jayne soon became an integral member of the large Lee clan, becoming close to his children and grandchildren, siblings and cousins.

With her husband Art and his cousins, she traveled to Europe and on summer fishing trips to Minnesota. She loved going to Jazz Club, Friday Fish Fry’s and many other adventures with her friends and neighbors.

The Lees lived in Madison, Wisconsin, until Art’s untimely death in 2010, which ultimately brought her back to Austin, Texas, where she found a wonderful community of friends at Ledgestone Senior Living.

Jayne had an uncanny knack of getting to know people quickly and developing deep and lasting relationships. Whether you knew her for a short time or a lifetime, you knew you had a friend. She was keenly aware of the world and the people in it and had a deep sense of humor that carried her through good times and bad. She never forgot a birthday and reached out often to stay in touch. She will be missed by many, many people who knew and loved her quick smile, bright perceptions and loving support.

Jayne is survived by her beloved daughter and caregiver Ann Alva Wieding (Will Harrison), her brother Jay Gamel, her sister Janet Gamel, her nephew Jay Lord, her niece Payton (Steve) Pangburn and great-nephews Riley Green, Stephen Troy Pangburn and Coty (Chelsea) Pangburn and great-grandniece June Pangburn.

Her niece Donna (Paul) Peterson and great-niece Stacey (Darrin) Pawelek, great-nephew Garrett Peterson, nephew Mike (Chris) Grainger and great-niece Jenny Coffey and great-grandnephew Colson, great-niece Cecilia Grainger, great-nephew Nick (Samantha) Grainger and great-grandchildren Aiden, Emeri, Athena and Penelope, Pam (Jeff) Witten and great-nieces Whitney Witten, Warrin (Mitch) Donowho.

Her stepson James (Shelly) Lee and step-grandchildren Courtney Lee, Megan (Kevin) Molenda and step-great-grandchildren Charlotte and Trevor Molenda, Brenna (Kennon) Anderson, Iain Lee, Rachael Lee. Stepdaughter Pamela (Brent) Booker and step-grandchildren Luke, Kelsey, Michael, Jackson and Nicholas Booker.

She is also survived by many beloved friends and cousin’s in Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia, Missouri, and Texas.

In lieu of flowers, Jayne’s family would like to support her love of music by donating to HOME (Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers) at www.homeaustin.org. Celebration of Life details to follow soon.