Thelma Lee Wonderly

Thelma Lee Wonderly (Lee) was born in Sullivan, Indiana on January 13, 1929, the fourth and youngest child of Josephine Ann Lowery Stapleton (Jo) and Drysdale Pearson Stapleton (Dale). Dale was originally a miner and became a national level union organizer for the United Mine Workers of America, and Lee’s childhood memories included the political turmoil of her father’s profession, including bar fights, arrests, and not being allowed to purchase food at the company store. Jo was a homemaker.

In the early 1940s the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Lee lived for over 60 years. She married, and later divorced from Robert Arthur Smith (deceased 1971), and her only child, Andrea Christine Smith, was from this marriage.

Professionally, Lee worked for Studebaker as a clerk, managed a book store, and then worked as a credit representative for Mobil Oil, from which she eventually retired. In 1995, she married Carl Wonderly, a coworker from her days at Mobil. After Carl’s death in 2006, Lee relocated to Portland, Oregon to be near her daughter and grandchildren.

Lee died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of February 25 following a month long illness (pneumonia). Lee is survived by her daughter, Dr. Andrea Smith; two grandchildren – Alison Tierney Smith and Stephen Joseph Smith; one nephew, Dr. Michael L. Nichols (Peggy); two nieces – Connie Enochs Roland (George) and Heidi Hambaugh; three grand nephews, Michael A. and Matthew L. Nichols and David Hambaugh; two step daughters, Morgan Wonderly and Ruth Wonderly; and two step grandchildren, Lauren and Brian Wonderly.