Joan Lee

Although Joan Lee took great pride in being nicely dressed in her many different outfits, there was nothing she needed more than the grace of her heavenly Father and the love of her family. She was vibrant, so full of life, and a woman of strong moral convictions who never took one day for granted. Joan touched the lives of so many young students who sat in her classroom as her work as a teacher was not so much about teaching facts, but was a matter of the heart. It was no secret that Joan was married to the love of her life for nearly 63 years with whom she established the family she cherished. A true gift in every sense of the word, Joan will be deeply missed.

The 1920s were a time of great change in America as we took to the skies with Amelia Earhart, began buying on credit, and the popularity of radios, automobiles, and movies exploded. Amidst this exciting time there was much to celebrate in one family near Reading, Pennsylvania, since it was on July 22, 1924, that they announced the birth of a healthy baby girl. Joan was welcomed into the arms of her parents, Frank and Della (Bucks) Rentschler, and was the youngest of six children in her family including her siblings Carl, Bruce, Irene, Grace, and Arlone. She enjoyed being part of a larger family and liked helping her mother with the wash. With her bubbly personality Joan made friends easily and had a boyfriend or two as well. She attended local schools and was very studious, although she didn’t like studying ancient history. Joan also worked as a machinist making airplane parts in a defense plant during WWII. While there she started a union that fought for equal pay for women – and they won!

As a young woman Joan attended Penn State University. She was the head of the Penn State Women’s Club and was also president of the Newcomer’s Club in Wilkes-Barre. Joan’s life took an abrupt turn her first night on campus when she met a young man who had just gotten back from serving during the war. His name was Ed Lee and since his friend couldn’t dance the jitterbug, he was more than happy to step in - and the rest is history. Ed couldn’t help but be attracted to such a beautiful, kind, and caring woman while Joan loved his “stinky” coat. He was persistent in pursuing the young woman of his dreams and after dating for two years, the couple became engaged in April of 1948. Joan became Mrs. Edward Lee on June 7, 1948, the same day they graduated from Penn State. Their entire wedding cost only twenty-five dollars, and Dorothy was the maid of honor while Andy was the best man. This foursome remained the best of friends throughout the rest of their lives. The newlyweds spent their wedding night at the Nittany Lion Inn, but the honeymoon soon ended as Ed had to work the next day!

With a bachelor’s degree in home economics under her belt, Joan went on to earn a master’s degree in home economics from Purdue University. She put her education to work teaching home economics at Dalton High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for one year. From there Joan taught in Lake Station, Indiana, for 12 years. She was an excellent teacher who loved her job until the day she retired in the late sixties.

Together Joan and Ed were blessed with a wonderful daughter, Donna. Their daughter was the light of their lives and throughout Joan’s life there was nothing greater than the times she spent with her family. She and Ed loved just being together through the years. They travelled all over Europe through Ed’s work in the steel industry, settling in places such as Yugoslavia, Genoa, Italy, and Northern Spain. They rode on the Orient Express and the Concorde, and they even had lunch on the grass in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Joan followed Ed up mountains and also walked into the crater of a volcano. Wherever their travels took them, Joan became their travel agent who used her organizational skills to thoroughly plan their trips. One of her fondest memories were of the time she and Ed were at the Cinque Terre “The Five Lands” and they walked the Via dell’Amore “The Way of Love” and had lunch on the rocks overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Throughout her life Joan was a woman of many interests. She loved lively card games like clothespins or spoons, and she also liked to read novels from James Michener and self-help books. Joan enjoyed watching old classics on television like I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show as well as newer classics like Murder, She Wrote. Her musical tastes included songs from Mitch Miller and other songs from the WWI and WWII eras, and she also liked to sing along with the piano from the time she was a young girl and her mother played songs like “Robin’s Return.” Joan enjoyed Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and dishes such as shoofly pie and schnitz un knepp (apples and ham), and she was always busy planning meals from her extensive recipe collection. She loved eating perch at the so called "Hunky Hollow" in Indiana or going on their Friday dates at The Spa. She always looked so forward to birthday parties and Halloween parties, too.

The things that were most important to Joan in life weren’t really things at all as it was people who mattered most. It was well known that the greatest day of her life was her 25th wedding anniversary when she and Ed stayed at the Continental Hotel in Chicago and 15 violinists played the Anniversary Waltz for them. Ed adored his “sweetheart in the red dress” and she in turn treasured him. Grandchildren were perhaps the best part of being a mother according to Joan, and she was so very proud of her grandsons, Justin and Joel, and all of their many accomplishments. More recently, she and Ed attended services at Christ Memorial Church in Holland and loved to sit in the Gathering Place for Sunday morning worship.

Joan Lee will be remembered for her infectious laughter, her countless letters and journals, and her strong republican views, but it was her deep love for her family for which she will be remembered most.

Joan Lee, age 86, of Holland, passed away on Thursday, March 17, 2011 in the Inn at Freedom Village from end-stage COPD and Alzheimer’s disease.

Joan’s family includes her husband, Edward Lee of Holland; her daughter, Donna Lee of South Haven and her fiancé’, Randy White; her grandsons, Justin (wife) Erin Lehman and Joel Lehman and his fiancé’, Stephanie McGillicuddy; sister-in-law, Betty Rentschler of Reading, PA; her nephew, David (Linda) Rentschler and their son, Andrew of Reading, PA; her sister-in-law, Madelyn Rentschler of Anchorage, AK; and her nephew and nieces, Larry, Pat, and Debbie.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in the Auditorium of Freedom Village, 145 Columbia Avenue with Rev. Bill Boersma officiating.

Burial of cremated remains will take place in Reading, PA.

Arrangements by the Downtown Chapel, Dykstra Funeral Homes.

To read Joan’s Life Story, share a memory, or sign an online registry, please visit www.dykstrafuneralhome.com.