Mr. Tollie Lee Pilgrim Jr.

Tollie Lee Pilgrim Jr. was born April 21, 1939 to Bobbie Eugenia Warrick and Tollie Lee Pilgrim Sr. on a farm in a little community called Pine, in Camp county, East Texas.

He and his brother Franklin Delano Pilgrim loved to hunt and fish on their 63 acres where there was several ponds and wooded areas. Even though it was just his brother as a sibling he had plenty of aunts and uncles, as his mother was one of 16 children.

Lee graduated from Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg TX. He later moved to Tyler and worked there while attending Tyler Business College. Eventually moving to the Dallas area he searched for a job. He was then drafted into the Army in 1962, and while still doing weekend duty met his soon to be wife, Rita Siegrist, who is also a native Texan, from South Texas. They married in January of 1966. Their chance meeting was through friends in Irving, TX where Lee was living at the time and working for Mesco Metals in Grapevine, TX. Later he would work in the Dallas area for Delta Brands as a purchasing agent.

Having later retired and then suffering a serious heart attack while on vacation in Colorado in 1998 made a return to the Dallas area where he was able to regain some strength after many weeks of therapy. He was fitted with a pacemaker\defibrillator, and amazed all by his good recovery, even to the point of learning to drive his vehicle again.

He loved to travel and as a result bought a hook on travel trailer and took the family to notable places such as Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon, and Washington D.C.

Lee had traveled to Europe and to Mexico City with Rita while she sang with the Dallas Catholic Choir also later to many European countries while she was a member of the Dallas Symphony.

After fully recouping from the heart attack with the help of his wife, Lee never wanted to sit at home. So they traveled also to Montreal, Quebec, Hawaii and Anchorage, Alaska.

Lee is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Franklin Delano Pilgrim. Lee is survived by wife of 54 years, Rita; daughter, Celeste and husband Jerry, their children Radlyn and Elijah Barnes; son, Brian Pilgrim and daughter, Heather and husband Steve Zarkivach and their child Matt Zarkivach.

Through the grace of God, Lee is now traveling the halls of Heaven!

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Discalced Carmelite Nuns