Lewis Clair Lee - Obituary

Donated by Bonnie Baker Ryan

Lewis Clair (Fuzz) Lee, 84
The Review
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

YUMA, Ariz. – Lewis Clair (Fuzz) Lee, 84, of Yuma, Ariz. Died July 290, 2010, in Phoenix, Ariz. He was born in East Liverpool on Jan. 18, 1926, to the late Della and A. C. Lee. He attended local schools and graduated from East Liverpool High School in 1944. Within weeks of his graduation, he joined the United States Army and served in the European Theater until the conclusion of WW II.
Upon returning to Ohio, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen Folks, in 1945 and soon afterwards, both enrolled at Kent State University. In 1951, he began his teaching career with the Beaver Local Schools, teaching grades 5-8 at Oak Grove School, one of the last two-room elementary schools in Ohio. Grades 1-4 were taught by his wife, Mary Ellen. During the mid 1950’s he taught at Calcutta Elementary and then served as principal of Rogers/Clarkson elementary. In 1957, he was appointed to the original staff of the newly built Beaver Local High School and two years later served on the initial faculty of the Beaver Local Public School. Like many of his peers of this area, he often drove a school bus and coached various athletic teams while also taking on various maintenance jobs with the district during the summer months.
In 1963, he and Mary Ellen moved their family to Yuma, Ariz., where he continued his teaching career with the Yuma School District No. 1, finishing his 30 plus year career at Gila Jr. High School.
In the early 1970’s, Mary Ellen, his first wife, passed away after a long illness. Thy had been married nearly 30 years. Later in that decade, he married Elaine Wuertemburg of Yuma. He and Elaine enjoyed a 33 year marriage that ended with Elaine’s passing in 2009. Lewis was also preceded in death by his parent, his only daughter, Luann, of Ohio, and a grandson, Brent Lee of Yuma.
Lewis is survived by sons: David (Mary Lynn) of Bakersfield, Calif., William (Amber) of Camp Verde, Ariz., and James (Sherri) of Yuma. Grandchildren include Alex Lee, J. R. Lee, Amanda Lee Beltran, Samantha Lee and Josh Castellanos.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 at the Columbiana County Memorial Park. A reception will follow at the Long’s Run Presbyterian Church in Calcutta.