Mr. Larry W. Lee

Larry W. Lee, Sr. (age 71) was reunited with his wife, Jeanette on October 2, 2010. He was born on May 4, 1939 In Spokane, WA to Burl Buster and Elizabeth Kathryn (Drake) Lee. Elizabeth later married Vernon Leo Coolbaugh. Together they raised the 3 children, Shirley E. and Rick B. here in Spokane on Wabash. During this time in Spokane, Larry would sneak off from home to ride the city bus to spend time with Burl “Buck”. His dad would give him a silver dollar each time, which he treasured. His sister, Shirley, recalls riding the handle bars of her brother’s bike to Cannon Park where they enjoyed swimming during their summers. She also remembers fond memories of fishing with Larry and their younger brother, Rick. Throughout his younger hell raising years, Larry spent a lot of time with different relatives. He worked in the Toutle Valley area as well as herding sheep in Plains, Montana with Roscoe and Kenny.

Larry made friends easily and had a pleasant but sometimes slightly mischievous sense of humor. His daughter, Brenda, recalls the story her dad told her of his time in Montana when he was permanently kicked off the school bus because the day before he had brought a frog on the school bus to scare all the girls! The rest of the year he had to walk the long distance back and forth to school. During this time, he was blessed to be able to spend time with the Lee side, along with his Grand-Dad and the Drake side.

Around age 17 Larry joined the Navy and was stationed in Hawaii. There is a story told of a time when that well known “hellraiser” got on his motorcycle and drove right through a restaurant! No kidding. Thankfully no one was hurt and he wasn’t discharged! While on furlough, he met his future wife, Jeanette Katherine Ramelow. The story goes, Larry was cruising, the popular thing to do then, “Riverside.” And saw Jeanette and her sisters, so he pulled alongside and asked them if they wanted a ride. Jeanette, being attracted by his smile and sailor suit , hopped in first making sure she was the 1st to sit right next to him! Soon thereafter they were wed on December 19, 1957. They had four children: Larry W. Lee, Jr., September 19, 1958; Randolph B. Lee, January 10, 1961; Brenda M. Lee, February 19, 1962; and Corinna L. Lee, October 25, 1965.

In the early years of their marriage he had a number of jobs to help support their growing family, sometimes 2 or 3 at one time. One of his favorite was, “popcorn, Cracker Jacks, get your cold sodas here” at the Indians Ball Park. Larry also drove a cab in the Spokane area. In 1964 Larry caught a break with the help of his father-in-law, Walter Ramelow, and was hired at Kaiser Trentwood were he retired after 30 years of service. He became known for fixing the problem the first time. And all the overtime doubles he put in. During his time at Kaiser he had different job titles and descriptions. The main one was Hydraulic Specialist (Pipe Fitter). He also worked helping to develop the Material Safety Data Sheets and plans for the Trentwood plant. He was a dedicated Union member even serving as a Union Officer, and remained an active member even after retiring. Larry also enjoyed involving his family in union activities. He and his family helped in running the Saturday night Bingo Hall. Larry also helped with the yearly Christmas party and Easter egg hunt.

During his days off he felt it was very important to spend time doing activities with his family. The family remembers many fishing expeditions where they would be getting up by the crack of dawn to go fishing. Other times be out there fishing. On these times, fishing had began at midnight and would not end until late morning when the fish quit biting. Other activities included hunting, working with the horses, camping, target practice with both guns and arrows, and hauling hay where most of the children learned to drive.

After the children were raised, Larry and Jeanette continued to remain very active. They both enjoyed riding bikes and even took a trip to Kalispel, MT riding both ways. These times spent together were highly treasured by Larry. Jeanette died on October 26, 1998 after a long period of illness. Larry was a devoted and caring caretaker for her during this time. The extended family was very important to Larry. Especially after the loss of Jeanette he spent much energy and time reuniting with distant relatives- bringing others together in the process. Both Larry and Jeanette had a deeply devoted walk with Jesus and highly valued their relationship with the church and its congregation. After the loss of Jeanette, Larry filled the majority of his time helping around the church and truly devoting himself to being a “Fisher of Men”.

Larry’s family includes…

Those that have passed on: Father, Burl Buster Lee; Mother, Elizabeth Kathryne Coolbaugh; Step-father, Vernon Leo Coolbaugh; Step-mother, Shirley Coolbaugh (Vernon); Half-brother, Rick B. Coolbaugh; and his wife, Jeanette K. Lee

Living: Step-mother, Helen Lee (Burl); Sister, Shirley Coolbaugh; Half-brother, Dennis Lee; Step-brothers, Ron Lee and Pat Eckel; Step-sisters, Carol (Eckel) Johnson, Jody (Eckel), Penny (Eckel) Lamb, Sheri (Eckel) Byers; Sons, Larry W. Lee, Jr. and Randy B. Lee; Daughters, Brenda M. (Lee) Culver and Corinna L. Lee; Grandchildren: Ashauna Lee, Tanesa Lee, Becky Lee, Levi Lee, Shelby Lee, Kody Lee, Katrena Culver, LayTonya Lee; and 7 Great-grandchildren.