Carol Lee

Carol Lee passed away on October 28, 2022 at the Beatitudes Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Carol Barbara Jean (Wade) Lee was born September 29, 1934 in Douglas, North Dakota to Haakon B Wade and Clara M Stafslien. Carol graduated from Stanley, North Dakota High School in 1952. She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in June of 1956, with a degree in Business. Incidentally, this is where she met her future husband, Millar Arthur Lee. Carol Jean and Millard were married on August 12, 1956 in the Lutheran Church in Stanley, North Dakota. The couple started their married life in Nebraska, where Millard attended the University as a graduate student in Physics and Math. While Millard was working on his graduate degree, Carol was teaching school in Ashland, Nebraska and Milford, Nebraska. She taught the spectrum of business classes, including accounting and typing. Carol and Millard always had fun, no matter what they did. In 1963, with a family of three young sons, the couple moved to Waverly, Iowa, where Millard taught Physics and Math at Wartburg College, fulfilling a desire he had to teach in a Lutheran college. In 1965 a daughter, Stephanie Ann, was ...[more]

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n. The family lived in Ames, Iowa for several years, then they moved to Waverly, Iowa. In 1978, the family moved to Pocatello, Idaho, when Millard accepted a research position at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). With Carol being the backbone of the family and supporting Millard's desire to teach, the family moved to Dickinson, North Dakota, where he taught at Dickinson State University. They were there from 1981 - 1983. Once funding was again available for research work, Millard returned to the INEL and continued with his Nuclear Physics research. After Millard retired from the INEL in 1989, he and Carol moved to Phoenix, where their sons were living. Carol supported Millard's desire to teach at Paradise Valley Community College, where they were in need of a Physics Professor. She was always a faithful supporter of Millard and her family, and she always did what was needed to help Millard and the family. Carol maintained contact with her group of friends from Concordia College. Because they kept in touch for more than 40 years, this led to the idea of writing a book about their women's club they formed, which they dubbed the "Blue Garter Club." This idea of writing a book about the Blue Garter Club occurred in 1991, when Concordia was celebrating its Centennial. The premise was to show that one of the intangible assets of attending a church college is the long-term friendships that come into being. They called themselves the Blue Garter Club, because the women all wore the same blue garter when they married, thus the title of the book, which was published in 1992. In addition, because Carol loved researching ancestry, she compiled a family history of the Lee/Husfloen clan. She was a lifelong learner and was known to spread her joy of learning with everyone around her. After Millard retired from teaching at Paradise Valley Community College in 2000, he and Carol enjoyed traveling, visiting relatives and friends, and they especially enjoyed life at their lake cabin on Turtle Lake in Minnesota. In August of 2017, the couple moved to the Beatitudes Campus, first to independent living and then to assisted living. After Millard passed in June of 2019, Carol remained at the Beatitudes and was often seen out walking around and always had friendly conversations with everyone. In September of 2022, Carol's health had deteriorated, and she was moved to the Care Center at the Beatitudes Campus. Carol is preceded in death by her husband, Millard in 2019; daughter, Stephanie in 1972; son, Stuart in 2007; son Nathan in 2022; grandson Brandon in 2021; her parents; and her siblings Howard, Edith, Clifton, Jerry, and Ivan. She is survived by her son Philip; granddaughter KayCee; and two great-grandchildren, Tyler and Zoey. Carol will be dearly missed by family and friends. She left an indelible mark on all whom she touched. A private memorial service will be held to celebrate Carol's life.