Dearest Sarah, my sister by marriage, I miss you every day. You were such a creative person, we really connected on that level, tho our talents are different. You're in my thoughts when I pick up something that you made for me. It might be a potholder, a tissue cozy, my one and only apron, or not to forget that sweet turtle pillow( that I keep on the bed).  You and my dear brother were my rock. Your encouragement given me in my artwork will never be forgotten. So many memories.

I cannot imagine what it must be like for Uncle Jerry, Mom, Aunt Joan, and Uncle James. It is like being in sinking sand to try to comprehend what Grandpa is enduring without her. All these memories are tightly woven with Grandpa. All of us missing her, our dear Sarah Lee, we grieve and also celebrate her beautiful life together. She lives on in us. I love her dearly and love you too because of how she taught me to love. And I am grateful for her and all she could instill in me and my children. She lives on in us. She is with us. She is with you.


Your Mailbox is Full.
	When my family and I had to move to eastern Canada in 2016, I was worried about many things. Two were Grandma and Grandpa. Would I see them again? I imagine you have felt that pulling at your heart too at the end of some of your visits. Grandma and I exchanged especially tearful good-bye’s on my last visit to her. She looked at me like she knew something, but I did not have the courage to ask what. We moved away and yet it did not seem too far away because of her phone calls. I could not always get to my phone in time, and I began collecting her voicemails so I could hear her in my times of worry and have something of home with her to be an anchor. Fast-forward 365 days later (exactly!), my family returned home and joyously visited with Grandma and Grandpa. The 'look' I thought I was getting did not happen. Those voicemails still fed me. Fast-forward to last week: Mom reminds me my voicemail box is full… again. I have kept Grandma’s voicemails over the past 5 years. I have her sweet vocalizations of “Happy Birthday” with Grandpa in the back. Each year things changed- her voice seemed less sing-songy. Her temperament with Grandpa changed a bit. My mailbox has these recorded changes in her timbre and yet it is full of lessons. And like my mailbox, I am full- full of lessons from Grandma. I will continue to learn from her loving care packages, the Aunt Julia she brought to all our lives, the colorful things in life we can give to others that brings joy and happiness, the reflection of what is meaningful in our lives, our roots, Grandma’s matriarchal role in our family, the beauty of life that can be exemplified amidst pain and suffering, and to pass on what has been learned.


It was about 10 minutes after her passing that early Thursday morning when I awoke with a wave that flowed over me. I knew. I waited in that darkness with baited breath and Mom’s call came a moment later. I wonder if those of you who called her home phone that morning might have felt it too. 
I will keep that wise look of hers, those tender tears of pain she carefully swept away, those loving smiles afterwards, those sweet alto notes of her voice singing hymns of praise, and the memory of holding her hand through it with me. It may be a final lesson I might learn from her if I am to experience aging and this kind of pain she endured.

Our last Cozy Christmas.
	It was not until last Christmas that I started to really think about the meaning behind her tissue cozies. I reckoned they were a way to show others she was thinking of them, or a way to pass the time and needing to get rid of them! Well, we all know Grandma had these prepared in advance to distribute as a ‘thank you’ or ‘thinking of you’ or ‘happy birthday’ or ‘look at this fun fabric Uncle Jack sent.’ I thought about her possibly getting sick and not being able to make many, so I made some little care packages for the staff at her assisted living home for her to hand out. No popcorn or oranges, or even doublemint gum (and yes, they are worth that and more for all the care they have for Grandma and Grandpa!), but little treats that maybe they or their loved ones could enjoy along with a thank you card to them. As I laid the box of prepped care packages next to Grandma on her bed, she teared up and said, “You got it!” Those tissue cozies were never about the tissues but what it meant to you and to pass it on. 


My teacher in suffering (partially shared at Grandma’s Memorial service)
	Those nights that were absent of any spark of color, accompanied with complete and eerie silence I’d get a call (when we had a landline) or my cell phone would alert me of a text. “It’s Mom. Your grandmother is going to the hospital-” I’d be up and putting on my sneakers, phone wedged between my ear and shoulder. That heavy heartache I would feel as I drove to Henry Mayo to meet Mom. We had a number of these nights- she more than I. It would sometimes be hours before we could see Grandma. One time I made her a card with all the colors I thought she would enjoy. It had orange beads (like the good ole’ dress up times) sewn onto the metallic blue cardstock with gold wire twisted into a “Get Well Soon” on the cover. Inside I wrote Psalm 121 as I knew my words could not bring so much hope and comfort as the good Word could. I remember crying and praying as I made this for her. Well, of course she got better- so much so that she amazed all the hospital staff and doctors yet again! She surprised us all with her miraculous recoveries so many times! But you know it was so hard to see her or hear her in pain. Remember she wouldn’t call when she didn’t feel well? In the past few years we knew it was harder for Grandma to mask this. I would call and tell her I’m planning to come. There were only a handful of times she told me “today is not a good day” and then she’d apologize and have to go. It was being in her room, by her bed, hearing her recount stories of her dear Mother and then turning to Jesus’ suffering that she would reveal a little of what she was feeling. She knew we didn’t understand what she was feeling- how lonely it must have been and how hard it is to see life change so drastically with aging and loss. 


so the heart and the love for others.
	
My sewing teacher.
	It might have been that Mom (Judy) was having to buy too many recital dresses for me- or maybe it really was that Grandma wanted to teach me to sew- but the time came for me to learn to sew and what a teacher I had! Grandma just had to say the word and Mom and I would be at the fabric store picking out patterns, fabric, and notions. Grandma and I made dresses for recitals, dances, everyday wear. We started sewing projects for cousins, neighbors, friends. We had so much fun in Uncle Jerry’s old bedroom upstairs. So many stories and also quiet to wonder and how to ask her about her life. She would share just enough for me to wonder more. I couldn’t ever feel like I had her figured out. I remember how my heart would race seeing her fingers get so close to the needle I couldn't help but make that little inhale at the sides of my tongue- just like she would make with Grandpa driving too close to parked cars. Mind you, the sewing skills I have learned are nowhere near what Grandma has. But the point of those sewing times for me were never really about the skill, but learning more about her - and me and where I come from.


Musical gifts.
	Piano competitions and recitals- she never missed one except for when Grandpa was ill in 1997. She and Grandpa would drive all the way to see me play every single time. Grandma and Grandpa sat and listened to the music recitals for so many years. Some recitals would go really well. Others, I was so displeased with what I just pounded out, guilt-stricken that Grandma and Grandpa had made the trek only to be tortured. No matter how much I messed up and wanted to slink away, they were always proud and helped me realize that my performing music was sharing a gift; a life experience.
There were other musical experiences with which I would observe Grandma and Grandpa. Listening to their collection of records under the staircase, or the AM station on their silver radio in the kitchen and Grandma would hum and then burst into song. Grandma and Grandpa would listen together as guest performers would share their music at their retirement home. Before we would attend one (or even during another’s performance) Grandma would fill me in with all the performers that she thought I would like- and not like- on the monthly calendar. “They just show-off, Elizabeth,” she’d tell me as she would underline their name with her favorite pointer finger. She liked the ones who were there for the music and for the residents. I enjoyed a number of them with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa taps to the beat, clapping his hands. Grandma would watch everyone closely, making sure everything was going well- and that everyone was doing things as normal. She’d half-point to people and giggle. She’d sometimes be armed with little gifts to give certain people- ready to share her thoughts and generosity to others around her. After all these years, it was still a life-experience. She loved listening to those performers who really got the music, who got the reason or the message and played with their heart; those who understood a bit about life. I guess it wasn’t really about the music but more

An order of Orange Julia. 
She cared for me when I was sick around age 8. I couldn’t speak during these few weeks and so she would speak when she came to my bedside. She made me orange julius and told me about the ‘Julia’ she was named after. Aunt Julia looked after her and was like her mom, just like Grandma said she was to me. She told me she’d always be there to watch over me. I knew then-and always have- what a lucky girl I was to be one of Grandma’s granddaughters.
	
Orange shoes and beaded rings. 
How Jaimie (Joan’s daughter) and I would raid Grandma’s clothes, upstairs in Mom’s and Aunt Joan’s old room! Jaimie and I loved those colorful heels and beaded rings. Jaimie wore the yellow heels and I wore the orange ones. Grandma kept the closet tidy with treasures of her favorite clothes and accessories. Jaimie and I would call each other on the phone and plan what we would be bringing to play together. We would bring our dolls to play upstairs, but we always ended up giggling and having so much fun in Grandma’s closet. It wasn’t until after dress-up days were behind us that I discovered the orange heels were missing. I asked Grandma about them and she said she had given them to another family with little girls. She must have known how happy they made us. It was time for those colorful shoes to make others happy.


These chronological vignettes are of my interpretation of my beautiful and gracious grandmother that encapsulates some of the life lessons she lovingly taught me. Though it has taken me a little over a month since her passing to compose this, it is with my sincere hope that you too may endure her passing with such fondness in your memories of her.

For my loving Grandma, Sarah Julia (Taylor) Lee:

Care packages. 
	Care packages for the 45-minute travel home. How I hated when that hot-air popcorn maker started it’s electric whirling sounds. The aroma of those corn kernels heating up and the first kernels to cascade over the mouth meant our time at Grandma and Grandpa’s was coming to an end. Grandma would sometimes ask my brother (Bobby) and I if we wanted caramel corn. Nevermind the sticky molars on the way home; I’d always say yes because it meant 10 extra minutes. She would fill the brown paper lunch bags to the brim with popcorn, little oranges, and candies. Sometimes she’d even slip in a pack of Doublemint gum- I must have been good! It would be a few hugs goodbye, waves through the window, the traditional ‘beep-beep’ on the car horn and away from Grandmother’s house we’d go. Instead of enjoying these goodies right away I gulped down sobs. The aroma of the old refinery along Interstate 5 would usually knock me back into reality and I would delight in the packaged love that Grandma had shared with me that lasted me all the way home.



Sorry we were not able to attend Sarah's memorial service. We were out of town and had very bad WiFi.  Our thoughts and prayers for the family during this time.  

Sarah had one of those huge, kind Texas/Oklahoma personalities.  She was one of the sweetest people you could ever meet.  She was very generous with her homemade treasures.  I have several handmade items that Sarah made that are not only colorful, but very useful on a day to day basis.  I still have a ceramic pot that she made for my wedding in 1976, that sits on my front porch.  What a treasure!!

I remember how fun her 80th birthday celebration was at the Odyssey restaurant on top of the hill in Granada Hills.  

I have fond memories of how she adored children.  She was always so happy when my Dad and I (and  grand kids) would visit her and Jake.  Sarah and Jake shared the yummy apricots from their tree and gave the kids candy. 

Sarah and I shared a love for flowers and gardening.  In fact, our house still has two Sega palms that Sarah donated to us, and they are still growing strong!  

Once Sarah and Jake were at their recent home in Sierra Madre, My Dad and I would spend some time sharing lunch and talking about the good old days back in Roscoe, Texas and their move to California as youngsters.  

I am hoping that Sarah and my Dad are still talking about their youth in heaven.  Until we meet again.  

Love,

Deby, Dennis & Christian   


I had the privilege to be James and Sarah's cardiologist for many years. Their love for each other and generosity and kindness for others was evident in their actions.  When Sarah would visit she would share handmade tissue holders with all of the staff. I have shared these with my sister in Toronto Canada, my two sisters in Trinidad and Tobago, my aunt in Manchester England and my mother in law in Brandenburg Kentucky.  
Our prayers and thoughts will be with James and his family always. 
Love Harold and Carol Quan
and all the office staff, Lydia, Mary, Gina, Carolina, Jessica

This is a copy of my eulogy at Mom's/Sarah's grave side service.

I would like to take this time to thank you all for the love and prayers for our family during this time.
 
Mom lovingly WELCOMED and SHARED herself and her many talents, with any and every one she came in contact with.
I would like to take this time to provide you with a smidgen of the history behind the life of Sarah Julia Taylor Lee and her 97 yearlong adventure with Life. 
 
It started off with Her Texas up-bringing, which was a ruff one, having survived through the dust bowl, the depression, and the Taylor family losing everything they owned in a house fire. In addition, she was required to help her brothers JE and Jim picking cotton and hoeing beans at a young age to help the family make ends meet. 
These life struggles helped forge her, and that Greatest of Generations into the Strong-Willed Giving group of folks we have been blessed to call our parents. 
 
•	In her High School days in Hobbs Texas, mom played the bass drum in the Marching Band and was VERY proud of her drum playing skills. She was also a force to be reckoned with under the basketball hoop on the Girls Basketball team. Mom worked in Southern California during the war like thousands of other women of her time, working long hours assisting with the nation’s efforts in the rearmament of the US military and our allies.
•	Upon Jake returning from Europe on VE Day. Her negotiating capabilities proved critical in convincing Jake to marry her and allow him the use of her Chevrolet coupe ( which he later sold). They moved around the country from Oklahoma, Texas , Arkansas to California while on the way producing my siblings Jerry, Judy , Joan and the BEST for last ME. 
•	Sarah was a rather handy woman at anything she attempted - from cooking, crafts, painting, sewing clothes and making the thousand or so of those famous tissue cuzies, cosies or tissue holders. 

She was also the production manager with HER Jake on the many wood working project she requested for family and friends. 
 
Mom believed in voluntary assistance , like coordinating the baby nursery at Panorama Baptist church, volunteering at Henry Mayo hospital and sending money to countless needy organizations that contacted her for assistance. 
Her big smile and hearty laugh were only eclipsed by her magnificent heart which she voluntarily shared with everyone at any time. 
 
In a time when woman were expected to stay at home and raise their younglings,  Sarah got her Real estate agent license, became a high achieving Avon Representative while still being a home maker and caring for our extended family John Sims, Laura & Tricia Kleber whom she loved so much. 
 
Then her health issues began to alter her mobility ,which along with HER JAKE , treated these new circumstances as just one of those trials and tribulations of life to negotiate thru together. Very seldom would you hear her complain or say “Why Me”. She would just SOLDIER on through the pain and discomfort. Always deflecting the question" how do you feel today mom”? By answering with the current weather conditions or what project dad was doing at that time.
 
These examples of her persona and your own individual PERSONAL experiences of her SPECIAL personal traits are secondary only to her Love for her Lord Jesus Christ.

Over these last several days, the family has rallied around her personal Bible with the historical notations of her Christian faith. There is a plethora of entries on almost every page in her bible that SHE personally entered to help ease the pain, suffering and the heart ache along with the JOY she experienced in her life at that time. 

She is NOW with her Lord Jesus in Heaven setting at the table with all her friends, relatives, and especially our Aunt Sally and Uncle Max. They are all sipping that Sarah Lee WEAK iced tea, eating homemade hand churned vanilla ice cream while waiting for moms Chicken foot and canasta partner Jake.
 
I personally will miss my CHECK -IN phone calls from her. Many of these calls were the result of me not notifying her "IN A Timely MANNER" upon my safe arrival home from one of my frequent work trips, or when she wanted to be updated about the LEE Great Grand-kids,  or when she was BORED and just wanted to chit- chat. 
She spoiled me, my family, and many friends with her Love. I am forever grateful to have had her as my mom and the gentle prodding she provided me to be a good Christian. 
 
I will boo-hoo for some time as a result of my being relegated to having only my personal memory’s my Mom, and not that personal conversation or best of all being able to hold her hand, kiss her face and tell her I love her. 
Please pray for My Dad that the emptiness he feels in his heart for his Sarah, will soon be replaced with the joy she is having in heaven. 
 
You Rock Sarah…oops I MEAN MOM
James C. Lee Jr. 
 
My portion was then completed by these two songs: 
1.The commercial jingle song “Nobody does not like Sarah Lee” sung by all in attendance at the service.
2. The song Celebrate by Cool and the Gang was played on the Speaker. 
 
The service was then finalized "At Sarah’s Request“ with the placement of individual Roses on her Casket for all of her Children and their families. 
Dad/ Jake - White Rose
Siblings and Spouses - Red Rose 
Grand-kids- Yellow Rose
Great Grand-kids - Orange Rose
A actual list of family names will be provided on a later entry.
 
REST IN PEACE MOM 

 


My earliest memories of our family’s life in California revolved around the Murray/Lee clan get-togethers. Our Mom and Uncle Jake were siblings, and had shared an especially close bond from a young age. It made sense that we would all end up together. Uncle Jake chose a truly good woman in Sarah, and our own family’s lives were so enriched in the process. We spent every single holiday together; picnicking and waiting for fireworks to start, drives to local mountains, feasting together every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have some hysterically funny memories of me, my brother Greg, Joanie, James and I at the “kid’s table” in the kitchen, playing “lookie”
‘with our mashed potatoes and laughing hysterically until one of the parents, often Uncle Jake would tell us to be quiet. Man, we could be naughty. 
But there are two very special memories that I have of Aunt Sarah that still make me emotional. The first involved a huge moth that flew deep into my (about) eight-year-old ear on the Lee’s front porch. While I screamed in terror and pain, it was Aunt Sarah who quickly warmed oil to drown the moth so she could remove it. To this day, I have to cover my ears whenever I pass by a porch light surrounded by those otherwise beautiful critters.
But it was my and my husband’s decision to build our family through adoption of babies from India that Aunt Sarah’s light shone the brightest in my life. This was a first for the extended family and frankly, not without controversy. She was the first person of the parental generation to embrace the idea, and me for having followed through with my lifelong dream. And she loved my girls so dearly. She and Uncle Jake were crushed when we lost our youngest at 27; their regular calls helped keep me going for a long time thereafter. I will remember and treasure her generosity, her love of family and friends and life itself and seek to even better follow her example in my own life. Rest now, my sweet and loving aunt-you’ve earned it.



Sarah was a very sweet and caring person. She was always there for me no matter what. I could not have had a finer MOTHER-in-law. I will miss her greatly.

When I first met her, I'm sure she wondered what is this hippie doing hanging around my daughter? But before too long we got along great. 

After Judy and I were married, she got to trust me to the point where – even though she didn't know how to swim – I was able to get her into my brother's small sailboat and took her out for short sail in 1974. She was anxious, but she did great.

She has provided great comfort to Judy and me and our children and grandchildren over all these years. She was there for many, many events of our lives with loving support.

Her spirit and will were unwavering. She could truly make things happen . . .




The phone would ring- And that voice-"Well, hello there!" That voice, so cheerful- that laugh just making my day. Always thinking of others, she was a voice of encouragement for me in my many ventures as we shared a love for art. I look around my home and my shop and I see her everywhere. So many wonderful things she made with loving hands- my treasures. That voice - that laugh- just a memory, now- I feel in my heart.  Since she was in the family from my beginning, she was a sister to me.                                                                                                                 Love you forever, dear sis

I have been friends with James since Sierra Vista Junior High School. From the first time I came over to Sarah and Jake’s home they welcomed me and treated me with open hearts. When Terry and I got married and she would be with me when I would visit they welcomed her with all the love and warmth they always showed me. We never left a visit without some flowers from there garden or something Sarah  had made. I have a picture that Sarah had painted hanging in my grandchildren’s bedroom and I also have Christmas decorations they made so when my grandkids come over to help decorate I can share with them my fond memories of my friends Sarah and Jake. I consider one of my greatest gifts in life my friendship with Sarah and Jake and there whole family who always treated me like family.

I have been so blessed to have Sarah Lee as my mother.  She was the most giving and loving person and She was alway ready to make new friends(even if she had to bribe them with a tissue cozy). She loved her friends and she loved her family. All her family.   I wrote her a letter that I’ll share .
   I have been loved by you all my life.  I have been so blessed to know a mothers love. 
   A mother that would make beautiful pink matching dresses for her daughters, so they would feel so special at church on Easter Sunday.
   A mother that would babysit 2 baby chicks being transported from Arkansas to California for her kids.
   A mother that would take time to bring my pet duck to school for show and tell.
   A mother that would always have a nickel for me to give to the Helms Man for a donut.
   A mother that encouraged me to follow my heart and seek Gods path.   
   A mother that has always been there fo me when I needed advice or correction.
   A mother that, in my darkest days would hug me, love me, encourage me. And softly touch my hand as if to say everything will be alright.  
   A mother who is my best friend
   A mother who made me feel so special.  And I was to have you as my mom
    I love you Joan
         We will miss her so much, yet feel so blessed to have so many wonderful and happy memories.

Sarah was such a talented crafter. Whatever she made was infused with the affection she felt for the recipient. I still have the beautiful, perfectly stitched quilt she sewed 44 years ago for the birth of my son Dan. Over the years she sewed so many gifts with painstaking precision. Each one felt as though she had actually been thinking of the person for whom she created it. I wasn't surprised to learn that Sarah was making Covid-19 masks till shortly before she passed.

Sarah left an indelible mark on the hearts of those who met and knew her. A woman well loved; a life well lived. She will be much missed and long remembered.


Looking through the photos of Aunt Sarah and my mom during the war, when they lived and worked together in Southern California as young women just a year or two out of high school, I’m awed over what they and the rest of their generation did. These photos show people that I never knew - young people without kids of their own who left their own homes to cross the country and live and work in a place they’d never even visited. They were young and vibrant, and one photo of Sarah with three of her friends is particularly meaningful to me - it reminds me that she wasn’t always just my Aunt, but rather someone  who’d had lots of adventures in life even before any of us came along. 

I could go on and on about the funny things, the joys and the sorrows that Aunt Sarah shared with us over the years, but this is long enough already. So I’ll end with an observation that probably everyone else shares - Aunt Sarah, you made a real difference in my life, and in that of my own family. It has made all the difference, and now the world seems a little bigger and impersonal; a world I’ve never known before. We’ll go on until somehow we meet again. In the meantime, have fun playing rummi tiles with my mom and dad. And rest assured that I’ll tease either Judy or Joan about “this gorgeous Lord’s daaay” every Christmas. We love you. 

Living so far away from the rest of both my mom’s and dad’s families, the Lee family and ours were really close while us kids were growing up, and we spent more time with them than with anyone.  When we first moved to California in 1957, we were welcomed into their family in Kagel Canyon until my mom and dad found our own home in Granada Hills, and when the 1971 earthquake forced us to evacuate, we made our way out to Canyon Country (via Moorpark, due to the fallen freeway overpasses - it took hours!) to stay with them again until the authorities were convinced that the Van Norman dam wasn’t going to break. 

One of my very first memories is of Aunt Sarah picking up my mom and and all of us kids in that blue and white Ford - was it a ‘55 or a ‘56? - and driving to a bakery on Chatsworth St. to pick up a cake for my 3rd birthday. Aunt Sarah has been like a second mom to me, and she never failed to tell me how much she loved my family and how often she thought about us. How she managed to raise 4 well-adjusted kids (I happen to have firsthand knowledge that James was especially challenging 😀) while nurturing everyone’s connections with the extended Lee, Taylor, and Cameron families, having so many close friends, and selling Avon products at the same time is beyond me. She really was the glue that held many hundreds of people together; a more family-oriented woman has never lived, I think. 

Sarah was my beloved, long time precious best friend.  I will always miss her.

So sorry to see that Aunt Sarah has passed away.  She was always looking to help others in their time of need.  She continued to think of others right up to the end of her life here on earth.  Now she can continue her love for her family and others in Heaven.

I will always be so thankful for Aunt Sarah being so loving and supportive to Mom during her long battle with her health problems.  
Her little gifts that she took the time to prepare and mail to Mom always gave her warm feelings of someone caring about her.

I will miss being unable to call and talk to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jake.  They were "quit a pair" and wonderful family members.

May GOD give each of you Peace and Comfort during your loss.

Dear All,

Ed and I are sincerely sorry to lose Aunt Sarah, here on Earth.  She was a very special Aunt to our family, always caring and asking how we were all doing.  She was the wholesome,  beautiful, loving woman of God.  She was meant to walk among each of us to show God's love in all of her ways, in words, in tissue holders, in her crafts, cooking, baking, etc.  We will hold Uncle Jake in our prayers, and all of the family, as each mourns a very special lady to them.  Ed and I took on littermate Aussie Shepherd/Golden Retrievers almost 12 years ago, and we named them Jake and Sara, hoping that if we named them after our Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah, they would have to be the most gentle, well behaved, best natured dogs EVER, and they have certainly lived up to that.  Our Sara is not doing so well right now, a bit ironic, I guess.  Jake is strong and buff, still leading the charge.  .... and we kind of had a notion that even though Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah were in their late 80's when we got our puppies, we knew they would all grow old together.   May we all desire to be an Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah, with big ❤️'s , big enough for ALL the people in their lives, and humor and laughter, to create an atmosphere of easy living, and leaving a legacy of all they honored as "good", to be carried on.   We are sorry we won't be in attendance at the memorial, but please know our love and hugs go out to each one of you.  Thank you, Dear Aunt Sarah, good and faithful servant, for the blessings you bestowed on this Earth.  "Dear Father in Heaven, may you provide all of your love, comfort and peace to Uncle Jake as he says goodbye, to his Love, for just awhile longer.  Thank you Lord.  Amen."  

PS...Thank you Judy, for keeping in touch with all of us across the miles, so we could all be included in Jake and Sarah's special event days and also pray for them in their needs.  We know you have had a weary moment or two, and we thank you for your unending care for your Mom and Dad.

As neighbors we were able to visit with Jake and Sarah often. Our kids (Jacque and Jenna) and even our dog(Jack ) would visit and Sarah would welcome us all in. She would send us home with something after every visit (we have 60 plus tissue cozys not counting one in every car and what the girls have at their homes)😂. Sarah would occasionally bake something and bring it down to share. Missing her terribly.
Doug and Caryn Forbes,
 Jacque, Jenna and Jack

My Aunt Sarah was one of the sweetest, kindest, most special aunt you could have. She Always made me feel very special and told me how much she loved me when I had the privilege of spending time with her.  I have two very special memories of spending a week during the summer of 1971, my sophomore year in college with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jake, Joan and James. I had such a good time I didn’t want to leave.  Then in Aug 1977, my wife Joy and I drove out in my tiny Toyota Corolla to spend almost 2  weeks with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jake.  They went out of their way to make our trip very special as we traveled up and down the coast using their house as our base. Sarah took us to Santa Barbara and on up the coast to meet James in Solvang.  That was such a fun day. Joy and I will never forget their hospitality. (Have included photo of James and Sarah from that day in Solvang) pic quality not that clear. But check out the fingers behind Sarah’s head ! Her and Uncle Jake raised wonderful children and very special cousins. I know she’ll be greatly missed but never forgotten. RIP Aunt Sarah. I love you.  

When I was a child, Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah, and the 4 cousins, would drive to Phoenix (usually at night, because of the desert heat) to spend a few days visiting with us and Aunt Cat and Uncle Lawrence and their boys. The house was full of laughs, kids running around and the voices of the adults (all talking at the same time).  Uncle Jake threatening to "thump" us when we got too rambunctious and Sarah's hearty and quick laugh when we did something silly.   I am so glad I got to see her a few times over the last few years. Even though I know there were times she wasn't well, she was always so welcoming, so loving when we visited.  We'll miss you always, Sarah.  

Photo
Mom and Dad after their Wedding November 29, 1945

So many times we would all gather around the table and just laugh and giggle at one another. She loved her family and friends and enjoyed listening to the “big windies “ grandpa would tell.   She would say “Oh Jake” and he knew he got caught and say, “Well it sounded good didn’t it?”  His eyes would get wide and we would just all laugh.  I cannot put into words how proud I am to be the granddaughter of Jake and Sarah Lee. 

Photo
Fuzzy Family Photo (FFP):  Jake, Sarah, James, Mandy, Jaclyn, Jerry, Jordan, Judy, Robert, Joan, Jaron, Elizabeth, and Jamie

Photo
Mom and Dad after surviving the FFP above

Sarah was my godmother, as she was my mom’s best friend. After the passing of my mom, Sarah and Jake, and Judy, helped my dad raise us. She always treated us as family and that’s how we referred to all of the Lee’s. She taught me to sew and crochet and was always so supportive of anything that I did. I will miss you so very much.  Thank you for being such a big part of my life. I love you. 

Tricia


As said to me, “Say not in grief she is no more, but in thankfulness she was.”

Moms friends and family
Once you passed Mom’s test to be her friend, you were friends for life.  Like Will Rogers, Mom never met a person she did not like.  She made long time friends.
She worked in the defense plants in Burbank during the war sharing an apartment with two friends.  Soon after the war ended, one of the friends became my Aunt Esther by marrying Mom’s brother, Jim, and the other became my Aunt Sally, when my Mom married her brother, James.  Like I said long time, with leverage.

Many of you here, if not family, were her long time friends.  As you know, she treated her friends as family.

We will all miss her, including her four children, eight grand children, eleven great grand children and still counting, but especially my Dad, who would be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary this November.

I just want to tell one anecdote that you may remember (or have heard about).  At her Eightieth Birthday Party, Mom was not ready for the party to end with just my toast.  Instead, she became the Ringmaster and gave the finger (not the one you’re thinking of) but the pointer to random guests.  She then demanded that unprepared person to go up to the microphone and say something nice about her.  Luckily it was an easy request as friends and family rose to the occasion. 

Although she is not here in person, she is channeling herself through me asking that you say something nice about her on the Eternal Valley web page.


Memories by Jake
Insights from Dad as only he could say of his beloved Sarah.

She always agreed on things we did and she would always be by my side.
She could drive a car and tow a trailer good. She sewed a lot of stuff for everybody.

A wonderful Wife, Mother and Grandmother to her families kids and others.
It has been a wonderful life with you being my wife and partner in life. I will miss you so very much, and I hope to see you soon.

I will still look around the corner to check on you. I miss you my special girl.


OBITUARIO

Sarah Julia Lee

12 junio, 1923 – 18 junio, 2020

Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary

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