Funeral services for Jerome Lee will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, February 25, 2016 at First Lutheran Church in Ellendale, MN. Reverend Richard Sliper will officiate. Visitation was held from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 24 at Bonnerup Funeral Service Ellendale Chapel (308 7th Avenue in Ellendale). Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service at church. Interment will be in First Lutheran Church Cemetery in Ellendale.
Jerome Lee, of New Richland, died Sunday, February 21, 2016, of a sudden illness at St Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. He was 86 years old.
Jerome James Lee was born on the family farm near Beaver Lake on November 19, 1929 to Henry and Inga (Hatle) Lea. He graduated from Ellendale High School in 1948 and was a lifelong farmer. Along with his sisters, he helped care for his father, Henry, and later his mother Inga, in their later years at the family home. He married Evelyn Helms on August 6, 1966 in Waseca, Minnesota.Jerome enjoyed roller skating and old-time dancing in his younger years, but never let a late night of fun affect his next morning milking chores. He loved farming, especially milking Holstein dairy cows, and shared these experiences with his family. He listened to Boone and Erickson on WCCO radio in the barn each morning and always caught the farm markets on KDHL, the Faribault radio station started by his brother. As the second generation on the farm, he was proud to earn the Century Farm designation in 2009.
He was a lifelong member of First Lutheran Church in Ellendale. He valued his extended family and longtime friends and enjoyed frequent visits.
He is survived by his wife, Evelyn; daughter, Jodie (John) Tvedt of Byron, Minn.; son, Eric (Snow Wang) of Sunnyvale, Calif.; daughter, Krista (Larry) Hardyman of Belmont, Wisc.; grandchildren, Anna Hardyman, Logan Hardyman, Sophia Lee, Caleb Tvedt; sister-in-law, Ethel Nodland of Waseca, Minn.; and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents and his siblings: Ardis (Noel) Thompson, Esther (Floyd) Johnson, Pearl (Russell) Anderson, Oriet (Harold) Johnson, Irene (Emery) Hokanson, Kia Marcella and her twin sister (in infancy), Herbert (Elaine) Lee, Bernice Lee.
In lieu of flowers, Memorials are suggested to First Lutheran Church youth director fund, Ellendale Food Shelf, Lutheran World Relief, or donor’s choice.