Baker City, Oregon
Eileen Lee, 91, a longtime Baker City resident, died at her home on Jan. 27, 2003.
Her memorial service will be held Thursday at 3 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 1995 Fourth St. The Rev. Susan Barnes will officiate. At Mrs. Lee’s request, a private interment of her cremated remains will be at the North Powder Cemetery.
Eileen was born June 24, 1911, in Baker City, the only child of Edgar and Susan Browning Cochrane of Haines. Eileen attended school in Haines until 1924, when her parents moved to Baker City.
She was a 1929 Baker High School graduate. She attended Willamette University at Salem and Eastern Oregon University at La Grande.
She taught music and elementary school at New Bridge, La Grande, North Powder, and Baker City. She retired from teaching in 1973 after 32 years of service that spanned five decades.
Eileen married George E. “Jimmy” Lee on Dec. 27, 1938, at Baker City. After brief relocations to Payette, Idaho, Boise and the Bremerton, Wash., Shipyard, she and her husband returned to Baker City until 1947, when they opened their own grocery store and locker plant in North Powder. In 1955, the Lees moved back to Baker City.
Eileen was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church. She was the church organist for more than 20 years and the founder and director of the church’s junior choir.
Eileen was a member of Baker Education Association/OEA/NEA, Delta Kappa Gamma, International Chapter P.E.O. Sisterhood, a 50-year member of Esther Chapter, No. 11, Order of Eastern Star, and the American Association of University Women.
Eileen’s retirement years were enriched by her interest and research in Baker County history and the study of her family’s genealogy. She was an early member of the Baker County Historical Society and a volunteer at the museum.
Survivors include her three daughters and their families, Luanne Lee and Cliff Weeks of Brookings, Patricia and Tom Hunt of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Marilyn and Steve Carnine of Portland; grandchildren, Brooke and James Hunt; and four great-grandchildren.
In addition to her father and mother, she was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Jimmy Lee, in 2002, and her grandson J. Scott Carnine in 1995.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Presbyterian Church, Pathway Hospice or a charity of one’s choice through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 31, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
