Terry Rae "Steel" Lee

1941 - 2007

Terry Rae (Steele) Lee, 66, of Paradise passed away on Nov. 30, 2007, in Paradise following a 4 1/2 year battle with colon cancer. She was born June 3, 1941 at Enloe Hospital in Chico, to parents Lowell and Frances Steele.

Terry graduated from Willows schools, living in Willows until 1979, when she moved to Sacramento. An employee of California State Automobile Association for 26 years, she worked in AAA offices in Willows, Sacramento, and Chico. She and her husband Jack Lee moved to Paradise in 1996.
She loved books, music, and working in her gardens. Her gardens still bloom, beneath the tall pines of Paradise. Terry also possessed a great love for animals. In addition to her own cherished housecats, she cared for many strays over the years, and took great delight in feeding raccoons and other wild animals on the decks of her Paradise home each night. Though she had no grandchildren, she was grateful to her "grand-pups" Tony, Lewis, and Walter, whose antics gave her many hours of laughter throughout her illness.

Terry leaves her beloved family: Her husband of 20 years, Jack Lee, who works at Rose Chapel, Paradise; her daughter Dr. Jan A. Nolta who works at UC Davis, Sacramento; her son, Jon Nolta of Willows, her brother Lowell J. (Joe) Steele of Somerset, CA; her sister Karen L. May and husband Harold of Willows; and her stepson, Jeffrey and his family of Lawrenceburg, IN. She is dearly missed.

She now joins her younger sister, Gayle (Steele) Simmons-Porter, who lost her own battle with cancer in 2005. Five nieces and nephews also survive Terry, as well as her very dear friends Marie Collins-Bowen of St. Helena; Karen Hill of Chico; Teresa Pitts of Muskegon, MI, and many other relatives and friends. Also missing her are her precious cats, Blue and Charlene, and a small raccoon named 'Punkin'.

Private rites were held, at which time Terry was buried next to her parents in the Willows Cemetery. Special thanks go to Rose Chapel Mortuary of Paradise, who handled the arrangements