Paula A. Lee

Paula A. Lee (nee Cote), age 58, of Edgewater, Florida, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Halifax Health Hospice Center in Port Orange, surrounded by her loving family and friends after losing her battle with ovarian cancer.

Paula was born February 10, 1968, in Warren, Rhode Island, to Edmond H. Cote, Jr., and Rosemary Cote. She attended Warren High School and University of Rhode Island. Paula began her work history over three states. First, as a Veterinary Technician with Povar Animal Hospital in East Providence, Rhode Island, and later at Paw Patch Veterinary Services in Clyde, Ohio. When a deathly allergic reaction forced her to leave Veterinary Medicine in 2003, she worked as a chairside dental assistant for Dr James Wilson in Tiffin, Ohio. In 2004, Paula moved to Florida, she became a Paralegal and became an integral and indispensable fixture at the law offices of Sherry Cote-Jarvis, in Edgewater, Florida, for more than 20 years.

Paula had a beautiful heart and always put her friends and loved ones ahead of her own needs. She was a giving soul, and once you were in her heart, you held her love for eternity. Paula will be deeply missed by any who knew her, including the many friends who remained close to her over an amazing 40 years.

Paula is surviving and devoted husband, Howard C. Lee of Edgewater, Florida, two step-sons, David Lee and Michael Lee and 5 grandchildren in Arizona; her parents, Edmond H. Cote, Jr., and Rosemary Cote, of New Smyrna, Florida; her sisters Sherry Cote-Jarvis and June Saffran; her nephews, James Saffran, III, Luke Saffran and Cotey Saffran; her nieces, Amber Jarvis Collett and Autumn Jarvis; and her uncles Gilly Aguiar, William Cote, and Robert Cote.

Services will be held on April 25, 2026, with a funeral mass at St. Peter the Fisherman Episcopal Church, 4220 Saxon Drive, New Smyrna Beach, FL, at 2 p.m., followed by a gathering in honor of Paula’s memory at the American Legion Post 17, 619 Canal St., New Smyrna, at approximately 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. A secondary Memorial will occur at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island, sometime towards the end of June 2026 (an announcement will be made once the date is set).