Lee Woolf Bringhurst

Our much loved and cherished husband, dad, and friend, Lee Bringhurst, passed away peacefully on September 2, 2026. Lee was born on June 29, 1940 to Theron and Zola Bringhurst. He was a kind man known for his sincere smile and upbeat personality. Lee loved to hear about the lives and life stories of people he met and his interest in everyone was genuine. He loved talking to individuals but wasn't comfortable with crowds. He was a unique man with many talents. He loved being a dad and said no matter what, he would always have time for his kids.

Next to his family, he loved the Sonoran desert, where he purchased bare land without water, power or any utilities. He enjoyed sleeping outside under the stars while he built his dream house. Only months into the project he married his wife, Debbie, and they continued building together. Having spent most of his life as an oil field welder, he used those talents to build fixtures for his home. The home reflects Lee’s connection to the land, incorporating saguaro ribs he harvested for the living room ceiling and local lava rock collected for a full wall fireplace.

With roots firmly planted, he had a desire to be home with his growing family and chose to leave the welding business, which took him to oil fields and asphalt plants all over the country. He turned to building homes and developing property, and he and Debbie started a commercial embroidery business which they ran together for 24 years. He decided he wanted some fruit trees so he built a screened in 1800 sq ft structure to house them. This became a favorite place for the kids to go with their dad to water trees and play in the "tree house" as they called it. We eventually added chickens which also became a favorite pastime for our family.

Lee was a deeply religious man who eschewed organized religion. He loved studying his Bible as evidenced by the many tabs, bookmarks and footnotes. Lee and Debbie enjoyed reading the Bible together often. Nearly every day, Lee would say how we have two main commandments to follow: love God with all your heart and love your neighbor. He would always add that he hasn't mastered it yet but he was working on it daily. His devotion to Jesus Christ was the center of his life. He often said he hoped that before he died he could bring one person to Christ.

He loved music and said that the only thing he could play was the radio. However, recently he was teaching himself to play the harmonica and said he wanted to learn to play blues on the piano. He loved learning and never felt too old to learn new things. Within the last year he said that he was ready for a new adventure and wanted to build another house in a far away setting. Debbie said a firm no.

Life with Lee was an adventure. He laughed easily and truly loved life. Life without him will be difficult. He is survived by his wife Deborah, daughter Brindy and son-in-law James, son Alex, and his older sister Renee whom he loved dearly and spoke with often.

A celebration to honor Lee's life will be held on October 11 from 2-5pm at his home.