Dena Lee

Dena Lee

Dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, gourmet chef, caterer, artists' model, singer, arts patron, people connector. Born March 1, 1951 in McMinnville, OR; died May 12, 2019 in Olympia, WA.

Dena graduated from West Seattle High School and attended the Jane Brown Foundation for Dance & Related Studies in Oakland. She loved dancing, choreographing and teaching dance, especially with children and multi-generational groups. She cooked with flair in restaurants and on cruise ships from Alaska to Panama, and served as personal chef for a wealthy New Orleans family. She also had a catering business in Seattle. She named it Simply Elegant because she favored organic foods, prepared simply but elegantly. Cooking for friends was a favorite pastime and usually meant trying a new dish.

Dena loved all the arts and generously gave her time to several arts organizations in Seattle and Olympia, such as Seattle International Dance Festival, Creative Dance Center, Olympia Peace Choir, the Random Acts of Dance Collective (RADCo), and the Hummingbird Studio. She managed difficult projects, produced many fundraisers and performances, and recruited others to participate in those activities.

Dena was married twice, to Steven Cameron and George Brown, before she met her true love. In 1989, after years modeling for the celebrated painter William Cumming, she married him. She was 38, he was 72, but it didn't matter. They were a charming couple and lived happily together until Bill's death in 2010.

Dena said she always listened to her passion and followed it wholeheartedly, and so she had no regrets. In her last days she wrote, "Peace follows light. Light follows peace. Love is the light. Go out and spread love -- there's always time for more love. Everyone deserves recognition and acceptance. We all want to be embraced."

Survivors include her brothers Ian (Rosanna) Lee of San Diego and Van (Linda) Lee of Spokane and their families, as well as the Cumming family.

We will gather for Dena's

Last Show on Saturday,

June 22, at 4:00 p.m., at the

United Churches of Olympia, 110 11th Ave. S.E., Olympia. Guests are invited to bring food to share and to honor Dena -- something fresh and delicious.

Donations in Dena's memory may be made to Creative Dance Center, 12577 Densmore Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133.