March Senior of the Month Barbara J. Lee
Barbara J. Lee, 85, was born in Carnegie and is the youngest in a family with six children.
She loved growing up in the small town of Alfalfa near relatives. Picking cotton paid for her school clothes. And she may or may not have tried to skip school with friends by climbing out of the classroom window and running down the highway to her house, just to get caught.
Vivid childhood memories were the times she raced her brother’s car across the Carnegie River bridge against the teenage boys.
Her greatest joy was marrying Dale D. Lee and being blessed with a son, four grandsons, four greatgrandsons and a great granddaughter.
Dale and son, Jeff were big influences and examples of kindness and understanding. No wonder Christmas dinner with her family is her favorite holiday.
Along with living in Alfalfa, she has lived in San Jose, California, Oklahoma City, and Blanchard, before settling in Newcastle. Belize, Alaska, England, Florida, Hawaii, and many other U.S. states were places she visited, leading her to choose places overseas as her favorite vacation spots. Meeting Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks, also stand out in her memory.
Barbara’s jobs consisted of working for medical doctors as a secretary before working at Scotts Cleaners in Newcastle in 2004. She started visiting the Senior Center to meet new friends and quickly began volunteering at the front desk greeting attendees, selling meal tickets, and assisting people with whatever they need. To pinpoint a retirement date is hard because she said she still does not feel retired.
VOLUNTEERING:
Barbara J. Lee cherishes it
Barbara achieved an honorary title of Colonel in the Oklahoma Air National Guard for being a part of the landing of the first C-17 at Will Rogers Airport.
Although oil painting is still on her bucket list, she has fun when her time is filled with bowling, card games, and TV game shows. She will tell you, however, that believing in God, staying active, and having a purpose to help others is the key to a long and fulfilling life.
Now, though health issues are discouraging at this age, she would still advise the younger generation to be respectful, obey your parents, and trust God to take care of you.
She cherishes being around the people at the center and eating her favorite meals of steak and fried chicken.
The Newcastle Senior Citizens Center invites every senior citizen in the community to join them at the center for noon meals (11:15 a.m. Monday-Friday) and to check out the opportunities for games, crafts and community fellowship.
SENIOR CENTER
Meals are $5 each and include salad bar, entrée, drink, and dessert.
The Newcastle Senior Citizens Center is located at 504 SH-130. Their phone number is 405-387-2100.
