Margaret Lee was my beloved cousin, but she wore many different hats when it came to me...sister, mentor, and dear, dear friend. I loved her dearly, and I will miss her more than I can possibly say. She will always occupy a very special place in my heart.

Born in La Plata Missouri on December 30th 1920, to Nina and Owen Bullock, she had one younger brother Robert.  After completing high school in La Plata, mom went to North East Missouri State Teachers College, now known as Truman University to complete not only a Bachelors degree but also a Masters degree in Music Education.  By the time she met my father, she was in charge of the music education program for the Kirksville public school system.  After my parents married in 1954 they moved to Dallas Texas where dad was employed as a pilot for Trans Texas Airways.  By 1960 we were living in Westbury were mom would reside for the rest of her life.  It’s still incredible to me all that mom accomplished in a world that was so much more biased towards men than the world we live in today.  All this before I was born.  But that doesn’t really tell the story of who she was.

More than anything, mom was a giver.  She gave of herself constantly.  Because of the way she lived her life, she often gave without knowing it.  Growing up as her son, I had an eyewitness view of how she conducted business.  For instance, being a depression era baby, she could squeeze the last ounce of value out of a penny.  Many times for Lee Ann and I to go clothes shopping meant going to Hancock Fabrics to look at patterns and bolts of material.  Mom would make the appropriate selections and a few days latter I’d have 3 shirts in different colors. (Green, my favorite would always be included).  She was teaching us how to be frugal and to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Then of course there’s Lee’s cooking school!!  I love to be in the kitchen, and there is no doubt in my mind it’s because my mother had the patience to let me make a big mess or ruin a meal, and learn from it.  I found out that she extended Lee’s cooking school to neighborhood kids for birthday gifts.  Come over and bake with Lee for a day!  She didn’t know what a great gift she was giving at the time…… how to cook, but also how to give of yourself!

Many of you remember what a green thumb mom had.  The funny thing is that all Mom’s plants and rose gardens seemed to spring up and take care of themselves.  In her quiet way, she tended her garden and caused beautiful things thrive.  Today, the earthy musty smell inside a greenhouse transports me directly back to my childhood when Mom would drag Lee Ann and I along to see an elderly friend and get our fingers dirty, or pick figs to make fig jam.  I thought our outings were about the plants, now I understand it was about what it means to be a life long friend.  Every journey was a lesson.

Then there was the volunteer work that was as natural and common as any daily chore.  It was part of life in her world.  Automatically built into the schedule like clockwork……no excuses!  I remember names like Irvington, Holly Hall, and BIM to recall a few.

Mom looked for opportunities to show kindness to others.  Whether it was a kind word spoken or a simple deed shown, she valued every human being she came in contact with, especially the underserved people in our community.  She always looked people squarely in the eye and paid them a complement.  Even in her last days at University Place and Memorial Herman hospital, her caregivers clearly felt the love of Lee.


What makes all these examples remarkable was not that she did these deeds, but how she did them.  No big headlines, no announcements, no fanfare, Mom simply lived this way because of the compassion in her heart for her fellow human beings. 

Mom lived a great life.  Almost 90 and ½ years.  She was tired and ready to go.  But the truth is, she lives on in everyone she touched.  Kindness flowed through her life to all those around her.  

So though she is no longer physically with us, I feel her living in me.  Sweet sunshine that makes me want to reach out to the people I love and strangers alike.

Lee was known in her neighborhood as a kind, sincere, extra-special person.
She was always giving of her talents and sharing of her possessions.  I had the priviledge of working with her during and after the organizing of the Westbury Area Patrol (Constable program).  Thank the Lord for people like her (and Bert).

Carolyn Weibye

OBITUARY

Margaret Lee Shoemake

Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home

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