Elaine Lee

Elaine Marjorie Lee had many titles in her life that included daughter, mother, wife and homemaker. However, the title she was most proud of was Christian. After 95 years of faithful service, Elaine answered the call of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, departing her earthly home and leaving a forwarding address as heaven.

Elaine was born in South Bend, Indiana, on July 25, 1925, to Forrest L. Moore and Leona H. Henning Moore. She created a lifetime of memories in the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana.  She met the love of her life, James Richard “Rich” Lee, through her brother, Jim, and Rich’s brother, Lou, while attending high school. Over time, Elaine and Rich’s love grew, and they were married Dec. 29, 1945. They would spend 73 years of love together. Along the way, Elaine and Rich added to their family five children, Carolyn, who married Don Reeves and later Randy Morgan; Greg who married Shirley; Pat, who married Bob Branca; Jim who married Sherry; Linda who married Jim Steinbach. During their 73 years of marriage, Elaine worked diligently to make each house they lived in a home, whether it was in Indiana, Michigan, or Texas. She did this by planting and maintaining a large garden and canning vegetables.  She was considered an excellent cook with the meals she prepared for family and friends. Elaine was handy with tools using the skills she learned from her father, Forrest, a machinist.  She remodeled parts of her home with extra closets, painting, wallpapering and enlarging rooms. She performed landscaping work around the outside of her residences and at one time put in French drain.  She also refinished and reupholstered furniture. Along with working around the house, Elaine took on extra tasks that were not asked of her, such as sewing clothes for all her children. She was a person who knew not only how to have a great conversation but knew how to listen to others who needed someone to talk to. The conversations people had with Elaine gave them a sense of welcome to her home and peace from having been with her. She valued a person’s time and the time she gave to others. Elaine had a sense for business, using her extra grocery money to invest in stock for the future of her family. Her creativity was also a part of her special set of skills. Elaine showcased this talent through art projects she did over the years such as drawing portraits of family members and creating handmade silkscreen Christmas cards. She continued to share her love with cards she created on the computer and would send them to her loved ones for holidays, birthdays, special occasions, and just to let them know she cared. She shared her faith with everyone she met and served in her church in several different capacities. This included teaching Sunday school at Covenant Baptist Church in Michigan for many years. She taught the junior high school girl’s class, while Rich taught the junior high school boy’s class. She also served as a child evangelism teacher, choir member, and witness. Her faith was not something she only spoke about; she lived it through her actions daily. Elaine lived the phrase, “You might be the only Bible that someone reads.” In her later years, Elaine continued to serve by volunteering her time and skills by knitting hats for newborns for the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Arlington, Texas. Elaine always felt as she was getting older that it was time to learn a new skill so that she could continue to bless others and share her love with them.

She is survived by a host of family that includes her children and their spouses, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

A visitation will be held at Emerald Hills Funeral and Memorial Park at 500 Sublett Road in Kennedale at 3-5 p.m. Sunday, May 23.  Funeral services will be held at Woods Chapel Baptist Church at 2424 California Lane in Arlington at 11 a.m. Monday, May 24.  The family asks if wish to honor Elaine's life to send a donation to the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research at www.mayoclinic.org.