Helen Bernice Lee

1927 - 2018

Helen Bernice Lee

Sept. 12, 1927 - Apr. 30, 2018

CASSOPOLIS - Oh that I had wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest. - Psalm 55:6

Helen Bernice Lee, age 90, of Cassopolis, received her wings on April 30, 2018 at 8:50 p.m. in the comfort of her family's presence and is at rest. She was born September 12, 1927 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the seventh of twelve children born to the Reverend Willie and Annette (Wilson) Gray, Sr.

Helen's faith was outstanding and never wavering, and her values were to treat people the way you wanted to be treated, love people the way you wanted to be loved, and to respect people the way you want to be respected, and she loved everyone. Music was a passion of hers. As soon as she heard it she would pat her foot and nod her head. Anyone going to her home would find her in the kitchen cooking up something wonderful to eat and baking a delicious dessert. Helen took her wonderful cooking skills to Cass County Medical Care Facility as the head cook in 1968 until her retirement in 1989.

Helen carried many names - Mama, Grandma, or Grandmama to some, Mother Lee to others, Aunt Bernice to the Mississippi clan, Aunt Helen to the Michigan clan, Auntie to the Harris clan. The nickname given to her by her children was Fletch.

Helen will be greatly missed by family and friends. She leaves to cherish her legacy her beautiful daughters, Helen Louise (Eddie) Mose and Shirley Ann Lee, both of Cassopolis; her wonderful sons, James Edward (Nora) Lee, Sr. of Cassopolis, Jimmy Ray (Cynthia) Lee I of Grand Rapids, and David Jerome (Rachel) Lee of Cassopolis; thirty-eight grandchildren; eighty-two great-grandchildren; sixty-five great-great-grandchildren; five great-great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Annette Harris of Los Angeles, California; three sisters-in-law, Ruby Gray of Birmingham, Alabama, Clara Gray of Los Angeles, California, and Sarah Lee of Chicago, Illinois; five daughters-in-law, Charlene Lee, Lucienne Lafontant Lee, Melchoran-Maturan Lee, Bea Lee, all of Cassopolis, and Doris Bell of Lake Providence, Louisiana; the Lee/Harris clan who referred to her as Mom; her faithful, special friend, Diann Greene of Niles; and a host of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Helen was preceded in death by her husband of fifty years, Earl Lee, Sr.; one daughter, Juanita Hargrove; five sons, Earl Lee, Jr., Charles Willis Lee, Daniel Lee, Irvin “Midget” Lee, and Israel Bell; one sister, Lucenthia Harris; and three brothers, Willis Gray, Sr., Lee Clarence, and McKinley Gray.

Family and friends will gather Friday, May 4, 2018 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, 202 North Broadway Street, Cassopolis. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. in Saint Ann Catholic Church, 421 North Broadway Street, Cassopolis, with the Reverend Coy Brown officiating.

Mrs. Lee will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband, Earl Lee, Sr., in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Cassopolis.

The family prefers memorials in Helen's memory be made to either: Community Baptist Missionary Society, 408 Harding Street, Cassopolis, Michigan 49031; or Hospice at Home, 4025 Health Park Lane, Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085.

Helen had a favorite saying about death. When asked if she was tired, she would say, “not that tired.” But on April 30, 2018, she said, Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on through the light. Take my hand, Precious Lord, and lead me home. And so she went home.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, Cassopolis. Please share a memory or a message online: wagnercares.com.