Susan Jane Lee

Susan Jane Lee (nee Staley) of Urbandale, IA passed away on November 27, 2024 at the age of 78. A celebration of her life will be held from 10-11 a.m. Monday, December 9, 2024 at McLaren’s Resthaven Chapel and Cemetery in West Des Moines with burial to follow.

Known much of her life by her middle name, Jane was born on August 27, 1946 in Hammond, IN, spending her formative years in Flossmoor, IL. Moving to Des Moines, IA with her mother Janellyn in 1959, she attended Roosevelt High School in Des Moines for her freshman year. Her sophomore year she transferred to Valley High School in West Des Moines, graduating in 1964. Later she attended Iowa Methodist School of Nursing in Des Moines. She then worked as senior management in the freight transportation and customer service industries until her retirement in 2007.

Jane was a lifelong learner with many interests including fiction and non-fiction writing, archaeology, history, genealogy and linguistics, specializing in ancient and medieval studies. An avid reader her entire life, she was a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and was among the first members to launch the Society’s Des Moines Chapter in 2014. She was active in The Clan MacAlpine Society, a group for members of the MacAlpine and Ewing clans and studies in Scottish culture/history. She was also a connoisseur of far too many films and television and a devoted sci-fi fan and Trekkie.

Jane is survived by her sisters Ruth (Staley) Jones of Richmond, VA and Mary Staley of Put-In-Bay, OH; daughters Kristin Lee of Urbandale and Tia Lee of Altoona; stepsons David Jr. and Jason Lee of Des Moines; grandchildren, Lilly and Hunter of Altoona; and honorary grandchildren, Ali (Horrick) and Tyler Watson of Des Moines.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.