Remembering Tim Lee, part of a wonderful family

Although I don’t know you your emails pop up at my home.  I now live in North Carolina but I lived there (Lemoore) from 1961 through 1974.  Yes, dad was in the Navy and I went to kindergarten on the base, M.I.Q. and Lemoore High.

  My father and grandfather are laid to rest in the cemetery at Lemoore and my mother and brother are still living in Northern California.

The Lees were our neighbors on Lombardy Lane.  They were the best people – we loved them and they loved us.  I was in the same class as their middle child Doreen and I used to play with Doreen and her younger brother Pat growing up. 

But beyond that, when dad was deployed, Louise and Tim Lee were beyond good to us.  My mother had a new baby and dad was cruising the Gulf of Tonkin. Mrs. Lee was at our house almost every day to help my mother.  My brother worked at Lincoln Market as a kid in the stock room.  I played on the Lincoln Market Bobby Sox softball team.  They were just good people, great neighbors and good friends.

They were the cool neighbors – had air conditioning and color TV before anyone but they were very unassuming and not flashy.  I talked to Tim Lee on the phone about 2 years ago when I passed through and stopped by the house. He wasn’t home and I left my business card and he called me and we had a great chat and traded email addresses.  I am sorry I was never able to get back to visit in person.

But I just wanted to thank you for the great coverage and pictures of Tim Lee in the Lemoore Leader.  Even though he was all those very important things, Councilman, Mayor, Veteran, at his core he was a wonderful family man and neighbor.  Your articles gave me an opportunity to remember what a good childhood I had growing up in Lemoore, California, back in the day when you could leave you bike on the lawn overnight and never lock the front door.

My best to you,

Cathi (Class of 1974) 

Catherine (Smith) Hall, CPA, CGMA

Comments powered by Disqus