Joan Angela Lee

Joan Angela Lee, age 85 of Houston, TX passed away on Monday night December 29, 2025. Born on January 22, 1940 in Nashville TN, she was known for making friends and trying to be helpful wherever she went. She played the piano when a teen-ager, kept the collection books for Sunday School, and finished high school with a prominent place among the sopranos of the school choir. In her adult years, she served as a receptionist for the Kansas Highway Patrol.

She is survived by her sister Gwendolyn LeeDukes, nephew Charles Edward Dukes and niece Pamela LamarDukes, and their children Brittney (Eden) Joubert : Jaemyn, Jannelle, Ethan and Elianna, and Nefertiti-Anngela Dukes. In the extended family, she is survived by the Brown/Zakka family: Muhammad and Patricia Zakka, Christopher Brown Sr, Brandon Wilson and Christopher Brown, Jr.

A memorial service will be held on January 16, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Joan had a sunny, outgoing disposition and made friends wherever she went. One of her favorite things to do was to keep a list of everyone’s birthday, and send out cards for the occasion. As a daughter, she was obedient and took seriously the charge “you are the oldest, you have to look out for your little sister”

Things she taught me:

- You must make up your bed daily. She and my father made up the beds daily; when I was still small, they took me for rides around the house in the folded up quilt

- You share a bedroom, so you can talk late at night, giggle and get loud until your father yells for you to cut it out

- You must protect your sister, especially if you have one that talks a lot, provoking others (in the old days, this was called “selling wolf tickets”) You must stand in front of her and protect her in the fight. Retribution could then take place at home

- Protection also took the form of keeping the little one’s hand out of the washing machine rollers, telling her to cover her face when she successfully opened the pressure cooker to check the vegetables- even helping her to clean up the mess. (I still have the remnants of the scar on my hand from a potato, that could have landed in my eye)

- You may have to stand to the side when the younger one is receiving accolades. Smile and congratulate her.

- You can volunteer to assist with taking care of the baby nephew when that Little One is trying to finish medical school. A non-paying position, and held down while working nights at the medical center. Sacrifice in the name of family.

- You can read the Bible and remember some of it. She was quite good at reading silently or aloud, and would demonstrate understanding beyond what was expected.

OBIT/MEMORIES 2

The phrase Joyful Resilience describes her best. She suffered her first stroke when she was just 33 years old. That was back in 1973, and the treatment then would definitely be considered primitive by today’s standards. She was in a coma for two weeks, and when she emerged, she was unable to walk, talk or use her hands to write. The medical advice was to admit her to long-term rehab. My mother thought that was ridiculous and declared that she could do a better job by taking her home. (Mom was an RN)

-Sometimes mothers are totally correct, and this becomes more clear the older you get.

She and Joan had a daily schedule of making lists for groceries, things to do; reading the newspaper, reading the Bible, playing the piano. Most clever was our mom’s insistence that Joan not only cross off items as they were placed in the grocery basket, but that Joan record their prices, add them up and match what the cashier totaled. As a result, Joan was able to walk with only a few balance problems, add anything you put in front of her, and regained reading and writing.

Our parents had always preached that we should look out for one another. She did the early years, and I did the latter years.

Oh, the last thing. Joan could be very blunt because her social filters were different. Her advice on boyfriends was priceless. When asked how she could have a boyfriend at day activity center, she said “they bring in a fresh load every month, so no problem!”

A Celebration of Life will be held at Brookside Funeral Home - Champion, located at 3410 Cypress Creek Parkway, Houston, TX 77068, on January 16, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. A Reception will follow at the same location from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.