Thelma Alice Cotner Lee was born May 3, 1916 to William Carl and Jane Buttress Cotner. Being the baby of the five Cotner children and small in stature like her mama, she earned the nickname "Shorty" within the family.
As a child she helped with the back breaking work of picking cotton from the time she was big enough to tote a cotton sack. When she was 17 she married John D. Lee and they raised a family of four children. Thelma was a homemaker and a devoted mother. She enjoyed cooking for her family - especially when the grandkids came along! She often cooked something extra to satisfy a picky little eater if there wasn't already something on the table they would eat. Every Thanksgiving she prided herself on her pies, baking so many different kinds that they covered the top of the old chest freezer and spilled over to the kitchen counter.
She suffered terribly with rheumatoid arthritis but set an example for those around her in toughness. She was determined to stay out of a wheelchair and did so by using crutches instead to aid her twisted knees.
She passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 74, leaving to mourn her passing her husband, John D.; children Jim and wife Carolyn, Bill and wife Donna, Norma and husband Jerry, and Ron and wife Bonnie, as well as eight grandchildren - all of Broken Arrow. She was also survived by two sisters - Ruby Bridges and Fay Garrison.
She was a member of the Broken Arrow church of Christ.
As a child she helped with the back breaking work of picking cotton from the time she was big enough to tote a cotton sack. When she was 17 she married John D. Lee and they raised a family of four children. Thelma was a homemaker and a devoted mother. She enjoyed cooking for her family - especially when the grandkids came along! She often cooked something extra to satisfy a picky little eater if there wasn't already something on the table they would eat. Every Thanksgiving she prided herself on her pies, baking so many different kinds that they covered the top of the old chest freezer and spilled over to the kitchen counter.
She suffered terribly with rheumatoid arthritis but set an example for those around her in toughness. She was determined to stay out of a wheelchair and did so by using crutches instead to aid her twisted knees.
She passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 74, leaving to mourn her passing her husband, John D.; children Jim and wife Carolyn, Bill and wife Donna, Norma and husband Jerry, and Ron and wife Bonnie, as well as eight grandchildren - all of Broken Arrow. She was also survived by two sisters - Ruby Bridges and Fay Garrison.
She was a member of the Broken Arrow church of Christ.
Thelma Alice Cotner Lee was born May 3, 1916 to William Carl and Jane Buttress Cotner. Being the baby of the five Cotner children and small in stature like her mama, she earned the nickname "Shorty" within the family.
As a child she helped with the back breaking work of picking cotton from the time she was big enough to tote a cotton sack. When she was 17 she married John D. Lee and they raised a family of four children. Thelma was a homemaker and a devoted mother. She enjoyed cooking for her family - especially when the grandkids came along! She often cooked something extra to satisfy a picky little eater if there wasn't already something on the table they would eat. Every Thanksgiving she prided herself on her pies, baking so many different kinds that they covered the top of the old chest freezer and spilled over to the kitchen counter.
She suffered terribly with rheumatoid arthritis but set an example for those around her in toughness. She was determined to stay out of a wheelchair and did so by using crutches instead to aid her twisted knees.
She passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 74, leaving to mourn her passing her husband, John D.; children Jim and wife Carolyn, Bill and wife Donna, Norma and husband Jerry, and Ron and wife Bonnie, as well as eight grandchildren - all of Broken Arrow. She was also survived by two sisters - Ruby Bridges and Fay Garrison.
She was a member of the Broken Arrow church of Christ.
As a child she helped with the back breaking work of picking cotton from the time she was big enough to tote a cotton sack. When she was 17 she married John D. Lee and they raised a family of four children. Thelma was a homemaker and a devoted mother. She enjoyed cooking for her family - especially when the grandkids came along! She often cooked something extra to satisfy a picky little eater if there wasn't already something on the table they would eat. Every Thanksgiving she prided herself on her pies, baking so many different kinds that they covered the top of the old chest freezer and spilled over to the kitchen counter.
She suffered terribly with rheumatoid arthritis but set an example for those around her in toughness. She was determined to stay out of a wheelchair and did so by using crutches instead to aid her twisted knees.
She passed from this life suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 74, leaving to mourn her passing her husband, John D.; children Jim and wife Carolyn, Bill and wife Donna, Norma and husband Jerry, and Ron and wife Bonnie, as well as eight grandchildren - all of Broken Arrow. She was also survived by two sisters - Ruby Bridges and Fay Garrison.
She was a member of the Broken Arrow church of Christ.
