Wanda Lee Lemon

October 1, 1930–December 3, 2023

Wanda Lee (Winstead) Lemon was born on October 1, 1930, in Madisonville, Kentucky. She passed away on December 3, 2023, in Lincoln, Nebraska, at ninety-three…or six-hundred and fifty one in “cat years,” which is quite a long time, and perhaps equal to the lifetimes of the many cats she loved and cared for over her years. She passed peacefully on a Sunday morning, listening to gospel from her beloved Elvis and family by her side.

Wanda spent her growing-up years in Kentucky, and for a time raised two of her own children there with her first husband, Johnny Simms. She later married John Lemon, a very good egg with a fun last name, whom she was with for forty-four years and with whom she had two children and raised four. They moved their military family to first Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts, then to Biloxi, Mississippi, and, in 1960, to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they enthusiastically took on the required role of Husker fans during the easy years.

Wanda was a hard worker, and held many jobs throughout her life. Her first job as a young girl was at her parents’ restaurant, which is perhaps where she learned one of her favorite old southern words for delicious eats: “larapin.” In her adult years she worked as a bookkeeper at several businesses, including First National Bank, Seal Rite Windows and Doors, Milder Manor, and Cornhusker Tile. The work she most enjoyed was in her retirement, for the nineteen years she volunteered at Belmont Elementary School amongst teachers and students who were grateful for the behind-the-scenes careful and consistent efforts of “Grandma Wanda.”

Wanda had gumption. She was strong willed and could be stubborn, which also made her good to have around when someone needed a talking to or wrongs needed righted. She was loyal, whether it was in bringing her parents to live with her family in their older age or in being ready to fight off a stray dog threatening to attack one of her grown granddaughters with nothing more than her always very large and well-stocked purse. She appreciated running jokes, and had a sense of humor that allowed her to laugh even at herself. She could talk to anyone about anything, and was known to ferret out family or friend connections with perfect strangers in the few minutes one would stand in line at the grocery. She was easy to talk to and a good listener, offering advice with her myriad of sometimes funny, sometimes perplexing old family sayings, such as “can’t never did do nothing, can get full of preserves.” At times in her life, Wanda did not have a lot, but she was always welcoming of those who needed it, and she saw the places in people’s lives that might need attention and stepped up to give it. She loved dancing, watching her “soaps,” paint-by-number, and was known to be somewhat ruthless in playing cards. She will be missed.

Wanda is survived by her children from her first husband, Johnny Simms: Michael (Gloria) Simms and Janet (Simms; Dale) Tubbs; her children from her second husband, John Lemon: Louis Lemon and Anita (Lemon; Rick) Leggott; her grandchildren: Melissa Tubbs (Craig) Loya, Bradley (Renee) Tubbs, Karen (Jeff Mildren) Simms, Kristin (Simms; Gerren) Jolkowski, Greggory Leggott, Jeffrey Leggott, and Marie Leggott, John Paul Jr (Kristina) Lemon and family; eight adorable great-grandchildren, who knew her, much to her delight, as “GiGi”; and the last of those lucky cats we mentioned, Duke. Wanda was predeceased by her parents, Lela and Hugh Winstead; her sister, Anna (Winstead) Hunter; husband, John Lemon; and stepson, John Paul Lemon Sr.

Services will be at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 2:00 pm. Visitation will be Monday, December 18, from 6:00–8:00 pm, and Tuesday, December 19, at 1:00 pm at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials made through the family will be donated to Belmont Elementary School.