Kathleen Sarah Lee

Kathleen S. “Kathy” Lee, 73, of Somerville, Massachusetts, passed peacefully May 19, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. Kathy lived with her husband, Don, in Leawood Kansas at the time of her passing.

Kathy was born December 28, 1946, into a large Boston Irish family. She was raised along with her two older sisters, Carol and Janet, by their maternal aunt Phylis in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She graduated valedictorian of Plymouth High School in 1965, and was awarded a 2 year scholarship to Quincy Nursing School. Being a 3 year school, she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in 1967 to pay for the last year. The Army paid for the year, and required a 2 year enlistment in return. Her first year she was stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital, where she ultimately met her husband of 47 years, Don. 1969 was the second year of her enlistment, and she was sent to Vietnam where she served proudly in both Da Nang and Chu Lai. During this time, her hospital complex was attacked by North Vietnamese rockets. She survived, but one of her fellow nurses sadly paid the ultimate price. Sharon Lane is the only female combat casualty of the Vietnam war, and her name is inscribed along with the more than 58,000 other names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. When she left Vietnam, as war often does, she was changed and the romance with Don ended. However, after many years and attempts for Don to ask her to marry him, on February 29, 1972 (leap year for those not keeping score), Kathy met him in Washington DC on a layover and asked him to marry her, to which he said yes. They married August 13, 1972 and settled in northern Virginia where they raised their two sons, Andy in 1975 (children Emma and Roman) and Ryan in 1977 (wife Angela and children Cydney and Ryker). She worked as a registered nurse for Fairfax Hospital and Potomac Hospital until the family moved to Blue Springs Missouri in 1990. From then on, she worked at St Mary’s Hospital in Blue Springs, before transitioning to home health care for several years. In 2001, she accepted a position as veteran service officer for the Missouri Veterans of Foreign Wars, based at the Kansas City VA hospital. She held this position for 12 years, and with her nursing background helped thousands of veterans to get the benefits they deserved. She retired from that position in 2013, but sadly life dealt her another challenge in the form of a diagnosis of Myelofibrosis, a type of bone marrow cancer. She underwent a bone marrow transplant at the Nashville VA hospital in conjunction with Vanderbilt University. She fought this disease bravely for 6 years, and did not pass because of it- she simply became too tired to fight. Throughout her life she held several posts, including past president of the ABWA – East Jacomo Chapter, a member of the Blue Springs Elks Lodge #2509, past president of the VFW Post 30 – Fifth District, a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America #317, a premium member of the Military Officers Association of America – Sunflower Chapter of KS, an auxiliary to the MOC, and a member of the Americal Division Veterans Association.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made on her behalf to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Due to Covid-19, we will be following all local and state regulations for social distancing. As such, only 50 people will be allowed inside the visitation at a time, so we ask that those attending keep this in mind, so everyone can pay their respects. The public visitation will be Thursday, May 28, 2020 from 5-8pm, and the private funeral will be held Friday May 29, 2020 from 11-12p at Speaks Suburban Chapel in Independence Missouri. Her service at the chapel will conclude with full military honors. The funeral service will be livestreamed on Speaks Chapel’s Facebook page. Beginning at 12pm Friday, there will be a public procession from the chapel to Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, MO. Lastly, there will be no public graveside service. However, we invite anyone interested to join us in her public procession with members of the Missouri and Kansas Patriot Guard, amongst a great many others.