LEE, JEAN AURA
Jean Aura Lee passed away peacefully Tuesday, October 10th at Adventist Health Sonora, Sonora, CA. Jean was born to Kenneth and Emma (Harvey) Udell August 29, 1920 in the City of San Francisco. She was the 4th born of five children, Kenneth Jr., Avis, Harvey and Virginia which have all predeceased her. After her parents divorced her mother married Fred Deiss and their marriage produced two children, Fredrick Jr., and Joy. Jeans family struggled during the Great Depression with the children helping support the family by working in the fields around six or seven years of age along with her siblings. In her teenage years she was a waitress, harvested hops, clerked in stores, and was a nanny, etc. Jean graduated from Escalon High School and in 1940 married her school sweetheart Elmer Reece with children Pamela and Randy following. They had a dairy in Oakdale which later moved to Jamestown in 1946. In 1947 Jean married Arthur Pardina and had 2 sons Stephen and Lester. For 30 years they owned and operated the 49Club and then the Banshee Bar in Jamestown. Concurrently, Jean’s commercial ventures also included selling antiques, teaching ceramics, and creating miniature dolls with other lifetime artistic interest’s of painting and drawing. By the 1980’s she and her doll business moved to Columbia where she married Marvin “Lee” Lee which joined in her business. Over the 30 years they were together Lee perfected the skill of mold making while Jean created the dolls, making their clothes and then using them as samples of her work. Lee made hundreds of her doll molds which sold all over the U.S. Sadly, in 2014 Jean lost both her daughter and husband but kept active and remained in her home until her death.
Jean is survived by her three sons, Randy Reece (Lynn), Stephen Pardina (Renae), Lester Pardina (Lynda) and son-in-law Gerald Fields. Step- daughter Nancy Callahan, Step-son Michael Lee (Christina), 14 grandchildren, 19 great-granchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. Jean is also survived by her half-brother Dr. Frederick Deiss and half sister Joy Castle. She is predeceased by her husband Marvin Lee, daughter Pamela Fields and great granddaughter Ashley Wood.
Terzich and Wilson Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
- Date of Death: 10/10/2017
- Age: 97
- Residence: Sonora
- Services: Graveside services will be held at the Jamestown Cemetery on October 18th at 1pm.
