Sue Lee

Kathryn “Sue” Lee, age 77, of Grants Pass, Oregon, passed away peacefully on April 6th, 2018, after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. She had her devoted husband Marvin, and long time friend and caregiver Betty Mason at her side.

Sue was born on December 16, 1940 in Colorado Springs, Colorado as the youngest of three girls to Naomi and Milburn Joiner. At the age of seven, she moved to Wilbur, Oregon where she spent her formative years. As a child, she loved riding bikes, roller-skating, going to the movies, and driving tractor for her neighbor Ed Russell. She worked as a veterinarian assistant while in High School, which fostered a love of dogs throughout her life. She also started dating her neighbor, Marvin Lee, at the age of 15.

She later married Marvin Lee on May 24th, 1959 in the Wilbur Methodist Church. Sue and Marvin moved to Grants Pass, Oregon soon thereafter. The couple have three devoted daughters, Terresa Holmes, Cindy Diegel, and Vicki DiStefano. The two were married for 58 years.

When their youngest daughter was in first grade, Sue began working in the cafeteria at Washington Elementary School. After Washington closed, Sue went to work as a school bus driver for District 7. She lovingly drove the school bus for 23 years. The majority of her career was spent driving in the Redwood area, bus numbers, 28, 50 and 89. She loved driving activity runs for sporting events, and overnight trips in the Painted Hills that focused on geology and geography. She was well known by both her family and her students for having an infectious smile that made everyone's day.

Grandma Sue had nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She loved having them visit in the summer and diligently drove them to: summer camps, hiking adventures, the Oregon Caves, The House of Mystery, and Crater Lake. She added an in-ground pool for the grandchildrens' summer fun. In the winter she would take them snow skiing.

In addition to spending time with family and friends, Sue loved to ride her bike, snow ski, water ski, raft, and hike. In her retirement she developed a love of travel, seeing the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, London, Spain, Paris, Italy, and Argentina. She was an active member of AA starting in 1995 until she could no long attend meetings due to her condition.

A celebration of life will be held at The Bear Hotel in Grants Pass, Oregon on Friday, April 27th at 3:00pm.

In lieu of flowers donations to The Alzheimer’s Association can be made in the name of Sue Lee to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s.