Helen Lee

Helen E. Lee, 85, beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, died peacefully in the company of her family and friends on March 5, 2011, at Alaska Regional Hospital.

A service will be held on Saturday May 7, 2011, at 1 p.m. at Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E Street, Anchorage.

Her family wrote, "She leaves us to join her husband, Al, who left us in August 2010, so they may once again polka to their hearts' content."

Helen was born April 6, 1925, in Umatilla, Fla., to William and Stella Merrill. Helen and Al met in Umatilla and married on Jan. 3, 1947. Shortly thereafter, they decided to journey to Alaska and begin an adventure that would sustain them throughout their adult lives. They made their first home in the Airport Heights area of Anchorage but soon felt the tug of the wild. Fulfilling their dreams to homestead, they lived in the Talkeetna area, and then they moved to their T & M site near Glennallen, building their home and their business, Lee's Guide Service. While Al piloted their customers about, Helen was the family backbone, keeping the books, raising the children, and making the wilds of Alaska a home to her family. Helen was deeply involved in her community, actively attending church and teaching Sunday school at the Mendeltna Chapel. After her children reached their teens, Helen began working for the state of Alaska, Department of Labor, Glennallen area unemployment office, as a specialist, retiring in the 1980s to pursue her love of travel and family time.

Helen is survived by her beloved daughter and caregiver, Patricia Studstill; her loving son, Gerald Lee; her grandchildren, Julie and Sean; her two great-grandchildren, Taylor and MacKenzie; siblings, Billy (Carol) Merrill, Bob (Connie) Merrill and Polly (Joe) Casale; along with numerous nieces, nephews and other extended family.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Alfred M. Lee; and her sister, Doris Marshall.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Helen's name to Hospice of Alaska.

Her family said: "Our hearts are broken and a hole has been created in our lives that can never be filled. We will miss her and look forward to the day when we are once again together at the feet of our Heavenly Father!"

Arrangements are by Janssen's Evergreen Memorial Chapel; www.janssenfuneralhomes.com.