Lee H. (Weis) Blank

Dorchester native and long-time resident of Sharon, Lee died suddenly on October 17, 2022, from complications of diabetes. While she was 91 in years, her inner child continued to cause mischief up to her last days. She was the imp you couldn’t help but like. Throughout her life, her brilliant mind and irreverent sense of humor charmed, entertained, and impressed family and friends, earning her the nickname “Legendary Lee.”

Lee was the third of four daughters born to Sylvia and Manny Weis. The first in her family to attend college, she entered Northeastern University as a chemistry major because “Chemistry is the future!” To her great frustration, she barely passed her chemistry-related courses. But she aced all of her humanities courses, including German which was a breeze as she spoke Yiddish. She could have easily switched majors. Instead, being Lee, she chose to drop out of college and get married.

In her 20s, she tried to balance her work life as a lab technician with her responsibilities as a wife and mother. Housekeeping, she would readily admit, was not her forte. She was an excellent cook, albeit a forgetful one. On many a night, after dessert was served, she would return to the kitchen and call out: “I forgot the peas! Would anyone like some peas?”

In her 30s, Lee worked as a lab technician for a prominent researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. She volunteered as a political activist supporting progressive candidates and causes… what we used to call a “woman in sensible shoes.” She and her late husband Ted were unhappy that there were no Jewish temples near their home in Dedham, MA. Together with other young families in Dedham and Westwood, they founded a congregation that grew into Temple Beth David in Westwood, a thriving community to this day.

In her 40s, when her daughter Elissa went off to college, so did Lee. Having learned the importance of choosing the right major, she entered UMass Boston as a political science major. As her most compelling professors were experts on Karl Marx, she also ended up minoring in Marxist economics. She would always say that she “really wasn’t a Marxist” but felt strongly that “his ideas were worth studying.”

In her 50s, Lee worked as a Telex operator and volunteered as a literacy instructor at what was then Walpole State Prison. She also taught ESL to Russian Jewish immigrants, a feat made possible by her knowledge of Yiddish. She was – as she would say – “busier than a one-armed paper-hanger.”

In her 60s, she worked on her daughter’s campaign for State Representative. And she retired from her Telex operator job just as Telexes were being replaced by faxes.

In her later years, Lee continued to bake her world-famous spanakopita (spinach-phyllo pie) to the delight of her extended family. She also solved more crossword puzzles – as she would say – “than Bayer has aspirin.” When memory issues began to interfere with her life, she moved to The Arbors Assisted Living facility. She quickly earned a reputation with staff and residents for being whip smart with a wicked sense of humor and, to the surprise and delight of those who knew her in her feistier days, a sweet disposition. She will be remembered with respect, affection, and much laughter.

Lee leaves behind her daughter, Elissa Royal, her sister, Frayda Rosenblatt, and her nieces and nephews, Matthew Harris, Pamela Rodrigues, Michael Rosenblatt, Michaela Denaro, and Doron Sterling.

Graveside services will be held at Sharon Memorial Park, 40 Dedham Street, Sharon, MA on Friday October 28th at 12:45 pm.

Following services, memorial observance and shiva will be held at the home of Pamela and Nelson Rodrigues until 7 PM that night.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts, 10 Post Office Square, Suite 800, Boston, MA 02109.