Nora Clarice Parr Lee, 79
Nora Clarice Parr Lee, 79, passed away Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, at Florida Hospital in DeLand, Fla. Clarice Lee was born March 6, 1930, at her grandparents' home in the Lower Valley, northeast of Somers, to Richard Gordon and Freda Bolz Parr. She attended school in Somers where she was a member of the 4-H Club and the Girl Scouts.
Clarice attended Flathead County High School in Kalispell and was a member of the Order of Rainbow for Girls. Graduating in 1948, she worked as a teller at the First National Bank.
In November of 1948, she married Lynn Loren Lee of Kalispell, at the First Baptist Church. The couple moved to Bozeman where she worked at the Commercial National Bank while her husband attended Montana State University.
After leaving Bozeman, Clarice traveled the globe with her family throughout her husband's extensive military career. With each relocation came new adventures, explorations, and exposure to unique places and diverse cultures, all of which she eagerly and wholeheartedly embraced. Her visits to South Vietnam in 1969-70 were among her most cherished life experiences.
Clarice was a proud Army wife, devoting precious time and energy to Army wives' organizations at each stationed post. They lived in West Germany, the Philippines, California, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, and other states before her husband's retirement from the Army at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in 1975. They resided in Las Cruces, N.M., for 16 years before finally settling in DeLand, where they had resided since 1989.
A true-blue Montana gal, Clarice was a fabulous homemaker who equally enjoyed camping and fishing. She was a champion bowler and fan of all sports; and a kind and loving mother, grandmother, sister and aunt who cherished time spent with her many close and long-time friends, most notably the Officers and Ladies of the 89th and 73rd (Thunderbolts' Field Artillery Battalions.
Clarice is survived by her husband, Col. (Ret.) Lynn "Sam" Lee; two sons, Rick Lee of Carefree, Ariz., and Lynn Lee of Clermont, Fla.; daughter, Norice Lee, of Las Cruces; two grandchildren, Brenna Lee Trevino and husband Travis of Las Cruces, and Brian Lee of Clermont, Fla.; her sister, Phillis Parr Edmiston, and husband, James G. Edmiston, of Kalispell; nephew, James G. Edmiston, of Billings; niece, Maria Edmiston, of Kalispell; great-niece, Katie Edmiston, of Red Lodge; and great-nephew, Gray Edmiston, of Missoula; uncle and aunt, Reamer and Margaret BoIz, of Eugene, Ore.; and numerous cousins.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association at 510 First Avenue N.; Great Falls, MT 59401; or a charity of the donor's choice.
A funeral service celebrating her life will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, at Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home with inurnment to follow at the C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery.