Mary Ann "Penny" Lee

June 7, 1934 -

Feb 14, 2020

Mary Ann "Penny" Penty Lee passed away on Feb. 14, 2020, after a long illness. She was 85 years old. She was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, on June 7, 1934. The family moved to California after World War II and she graduated from nursing school at Mount Saint Mary's University in 1955. She met and married Harry Lee in California and they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1956. She worked for many years as a public health nurse and went back to school and graduated from Loma Linda University to become a nurse practitioner. She then worked for Municipality of Anchorage Health Department/STD Clinic and was recognized nationally for her pioneering program in AIDS detection and prevention. She was also an avid quilter and seamstress and was a member of the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters for many years. Her quilts are much enjoyed by her family and friends and also hang in the Anchorage Airport.

As a friend wrote, "she was a formidable woman" and she was. Fiercely independent, she was also honest, forthright, opinionated and very funny. She was proud of being busted in a vice raid while doing city business and figured out that her Jag XKE got her better treatment from teenagers when she was a school nurse. She drove her children "bug nuts" and doted on grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was always trying to make us better and to be part of a better society. She was part of the Mid-Century Pioneers that are too easy to overlook, yet built the foundations of what is right in Alaska. Alaska drivers rejoice as Mary Andretti-Lee is no longer tailgating and has zoomed off into the sunset.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Harry Rees Lee Jr.; her mother, Leona Schoren Penty; and her father, Maynard Penty. She is survived by her children: Mark (Brenda) Lee, Marcia Vann and Michael (Tracy) Lee; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.