May Lee Kretzschmar

Born on the 20th of August 1920, in Houston, Texas, May Lee was the daughter of the late Eldred and Jennie Rulon, founders of Rulon Electric Company. May Lee attended San Jacinto High School and joined the U.S. Navy shortly after graduation, serving in the Waves for two and a half years. She was also a life member of the American Legion Post #77.

Known lovingly by her grandchildren as “Nana K.,” May Lee was an avid reader who enjoyed cooking and shopping. She also enjoyed collecting elephants and was passionate about the color purple.

A long-time active member at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, she was integral in the founding of Young at Heart and enjoyed her involvement in the church’s Braille Club, where she helped put together Bibles for the blind. She was the Corresponding Secretary of the Houston Engineering and Scientific Society’s (H.E.S.S.) Ladies’ Auxiliary.

As a lifelong Bellaire resident, she was actively involved in the Friends of the Bellaire Library and a member of the Bellaire Historical Society. May Lee was also the president of the Bellaire Women’s Civic Club from 1965-1967 and 1998-1999.

May Lee is preceded in death by her husband Gerhard Philip Kretzschmar. She is survived by her three sons, Philip, Jon, and Tom, their wives, Bobbi, Cheryl, and Lisa (respectively); her grandsons, Jon Jr., Andy, Jason, and Sam; her granddaughters, Sarah and Hannah; and her great-grandchildren, Nikolaus, Nicholas, Tobias, and Roby Jacquelyne.

The funeral service is to be conducted at three o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday, the 25th of November, at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 8601 Chimney Rock Road in Houston, where Pastor Allen Bauer is to officiate. Prior to the service, during the two o’clock hour, the family will receive friends in the narthex of the church.

Immediately following, the family is to gather for a private entombment in the Chapel of the Oaks Mausoleum at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in May Lee’s name be directed to the Pilgrim Lutheran Church Building Fund, 8601 Chimney Rock, Houston, TX, 77096.