Ann Lee

1929 - 2025

Ann Lee
09/09/1929 - 10/25/2025
Ann Edwards Lee, 96, passed away peacefully on October 25, 2025, surrounded by family at her beloved longtime home in Houston, Texas.
Ann was born September 9, 1929, in New Orleans, LA to Andrew and Helen (Seib) Edwards. She grew up in nearby Ponchatoula, where her father served as mayor. During her high school years, at the height of the second World War, she served as a plane spotter, watching the skies for Nazi aircraft. Ann proudly called Ponchatoula her hometown her entire life.
Ann graduated from Ponchatoula High School in 1946, then matriculated at the University of Texas in Austin. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and graduated with a degree in Education.
While at university, she met Robert "Bob" Lee of Waco and soon thereafter they were married and blessed with the first of five sons, James. The young family moved to Albuquerque, NM where another son, Michael was born. Wanting to be closer to family in Waco and Ponchatoula, the family moved to a small (3br-1ba) house in south Houston. Ann was a schoolteacher while Bob was a successful salesman for a National Law Book Publisher, and three more sons were born, Robert, Richard and Donald. In 1968 the family bought land and built a larger house in the new Maplewood South subdivision West of Meyerland where she lived the rest of her life. Ann was a devout parishioner of the nearby St. Thomas More Catholic Church and played the organ during church services for many years.
Ann was a stalwart of the local, state and national Republican parties throughout her life – serving as a member and leader of numerous Republican women's clubs, a precinct chairman, an election judge, a two-term Treasurer of the county party, and a regular attendee at party conventions. She was honored for lifetime achievement by the Texas Federation of Republican Women and the Harris County Republican Party.
Passionate about contributing to civic life, Ann was also active in the Braes Bayou Association and helped successfully push for many drainage improvement projects. She personally requested the walking/running trail that so many now use along Braes Bayou. A statue of an owl now stands as a monument to her contributions in Arthur Storey Park along Beltway 8. Ann was also committed to reforming marijuana laws and a co-founder of Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition-pushing for reforms long before doing so was acceptable (reforms that are now being realized).
Ann was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Wallace Edwards; her beloved husband, Robert Lee; sons, James Lee and Richard Lee; and granddaughter, Emily Szafarz. She is survived by sons, Michael Lee, Robert Lee, and Donald Lee with his wife, Susan Lee; three granddaughters; and six great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service followed by a reception will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 10330 Hillcroft St., Houston, TX 77096. Condolences may be offered at www.millerfuneral.com