She was born December 24, 1928, in Marshallville, Georgia, to William Harbour Lee and Ethel Rice Lee. Claudia attended Mercer University in Macon, GA for two years and graduated in 1949 from her beloved UNC at Chapel Hill. She earned a Master of Arts at Catholic University of America in 1979. A long-time resident of Arlington, VA, where she taught at Yorktown High School and was Chairman of the Business Education Department. She moved to Raleigh, NC, in 2011. While well known to her students, her passion and dedication as a teacher was recognized in 1981 when she was named Arlington County Vocational Teacher of the Year and the Virginia Business Teacher of the Year. Claudia will always be remembered for her kind and gentle loving spirit.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, John Cook Lee, and her husband, Louis James Koutoulakos.
She is survived by daughter, Lee Booth Hoffman (Phillip) of Raleigh; son, Shepherd Allen Booth III (Jackie) of Lake Arrowhead, CA; step-son, James Louis Koutoulakos (Annie) of Conway, SC; grandson, Bryan Miles Hoffman (Shelley) of Charleston, SC; granddaughter, Lizzy Booth Ortiz (Richard) of Manchester, England; sister, Beverley Stevens of Wilmington, NC; sister-in-law, Carolyn Roper Lee of Lincolnton, NC; step-grandchildren, Phillip Hoffman (Becky), Scott Hoffman (Ginny), Danielle Hangen (Pete), Aaran Koutoulakos, Alexis Koutoulakos (Dan); seven step-great grandchildren and her special niece and nephews.
Family members offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to her caregivers for their love and devotion over the years. To Grace Ngari who was Claudia’s friend and caregiver for eleven years and who will always be family; to Jane Maina and Mary Kahangara for their compassion and assistance in making Claudia’s transition comfortable and peaceful.
A service to celebrate Claudia's life will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, March 25, 2022 at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. The service will be live streamed through, http://hbumc.org/live.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, 2209 Fairview Road, Raleigh, NC 27608 designated for the “Inasmuch Fund” or UNC-Chapel Hill designated for Needs-Based Scholarships General Fund (656501) at https://give.unc.edu/donate?f=656501 or UNC-Chapel Hill, PO Box 309, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0309.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne, St. Mary’s Street, Raleigh.
