Elaine Lee

Linda Elaine Lee, 80, of Stone Mountain, Georgia. She was born June 25, 1944 to Conley and Jean Williams in Bonham, Texas and grew up in Lubbock, Texas.  She was a true Texas girl growing up.  

A Woman for All Seasons! A sailor in the US Navy, a wife and companion, a sports woman, a businesswoman, a devoted friend, an animal lover, a clothes, a horse, and a force to be reckoned with, all for starters!

She learned compassion early as her mother, who was deaf, amply demonstrated that living with a disability did not preclude one from living a full life.

Laine herself lived such a life. At the age of 17, she started working in a doctor's office and literally worked the rest of her life stopping only last year. In 1964, at the age of 19, she married James Arthur Lee "Art". He was in the Navy at the time, and while living in New Orleans, Laine also enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve and served for four years even after moving to Atlanta for Art to go to law school at Emory University. Laine and Art were married for 58 years until Art's untimely death in 2022.

Always adventurous, Laine and Art were qualified scuba divers and spent many summers in Florida sport diving. Laine also loved being on the water and for years enjoyed power boating and water skiing. Not satisfied with being in the water or under it, later in life Laine took up flying and ultimately earned her pilots license and instrument ticket, only to have it all end when she developed tinnitus, an inner ear condition which affected her balance and orientation.

Of course, Laine, not one to ever sit still, kept up her many household projects. She was constantly working on her and Art's home, building two back porches, a garage, landscaping, digging a goldfish pond, finishing the basement, remodeling the kitchen and just about any home improvement project that came to her mind. She did a good bit of the work herself, but often relied on her contracting buddy Kenny Ray, the "Fixer". The goldfish pond, a source of pride, also became a constant source of frustration because the hawks and herons kept eating her goldfish. 

Not withstanding her sports and construction projects, Laine was a beautiful and successful businesswoman. She was first and foremost a clothes horse who always dressed to the nines and wore jewelry like a Christmas tree wears ornaments. She worked for General Motors Acceptance Corporation as an auditor for 30 years, then after supposedly retiring in 2003, she went to work at the Merchandise Mart managing a showroom. The Mart gave her access to discounts on clothes, jewelry, and all sorts of home goods, just her kind of place! Laine worked at the Mart for 20 years, finally retiring last year.

Laine's life cannot be described without talking about her love of her friends and her animals. Laine was known for her dinner parties. She had a party at almost every holiday, Halloween and Thanksgiving being her favorites. She would decorate the house with all sorts of characters, including a life-size witch, Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, to name a few.

She loved her dogs and cats. When Art was in law school at Emory, they had two basset hounds, Master Droopy Lee and Brigitte Bardog, and a cat named Muffin. When the basset hounds died, Laine was so bereaved she refused to have another pet for over 30 years. Finally, relenting in the early 2000's, she and Art acquired two Chinese Cresteds, Bailey and Carley, who quickly became her children. She soon took on two rescue cats, Cheeky and Miss Kitty, in addition to the dogs.

Laine was a nurturer to her friends, her family and her pets. Later in their married life, she became a caregiver to her husband Art after he was paralyzed from the waist down from a spinal infection. She did all this while still working long days and nights at the Mart.

Laine was generous to a fault. She was always giving small gifts to her friends,  such as jewelry, watches and clothing just to show her affection and respect. She was a great cook, preparing all the meals for her dinner parties. She loved and supported her friends. She always had time for anyone needing it. She never liked hurting anyone's feelings. She was unassuming even to the point that when she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, and then lung cancer, she told only her sister, Gayle, and another friend, saying that she did not want to burden her friends with her problems as they had enough of their own. That's who Laine Lee was. A loyal, caring and supportive friend. A beautiful spirit.

And by the way, she owned several guns, was always armed, and could shoot straight! Truly A Woman for All Seasons! A force of nature! Her presence will be missed by all who loved her.

Laine is survived by her three sisters, Gayle Martin, Charlotte Perdue, Sharon Claunch, their children, her cats, and the many children of her friends to whom she and Art were aunt and uncle.

There will be a celebration of Laine's life on December 8, at 4 PM at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant, 3829 Clairmont Road at Peachtree DeKalb Airport.

A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, 2773 N. Decatur Rd. Decatur, Georgia is handling arrangements.