Elizabeth Louise (Bette) Lee

Elizabeth Louise (Bette) Lee, 93, died Sunday, April 21, 2019, in Kansas City, Missouri. Bette was born October 8, 1925, in Plains, Kansas. Her parents, Frances (Wood) and Homer Singley, owned the farm near Kismet, Kansas, where Bette spent her childhood and most of her adult life.

Bette graduated from Kismet High School in 1943 and worked as a bookkeeper at the Plains Lumber Company until she married, Thomas Brown (Tommy) Lee, Jr., a flight engineer stationed at Liberal Air Base during World War II. In 2007, Bette and Tommy left the farm and relocated to Liberal. In 2009, they moved to the Kingswood Senior Living Community in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bette was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and Altar Society in Plains, various bridge clubs, the Kismet branch of Beta Sigma Phi, the Plains American Legion Auxiliary, and the First Prestige and Investment Clubs in Liberal. She enjoyed dancing, playing cards, following University of Kansas basketball and Kansas City Chiefs football, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Tommy; a son-in-law, Alan Royal; her parents; a brother, William Singley; and a sister, Josephine Pivonka.

She leaves behind her five children: Leissa Shahrak (Louis Giron) of Asheville, North Carolina; Marci McGraw of Natchez, Mississippi; Lori Royal of Kansas City, Missouri; Thomas Lee III (Marci) of South Lake, Texas; and Kari Lee of Leesburg, Virginia; as well as ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Holy Mass will be celebrated at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, April 25, 2019, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church with interment in the Plains Cemetery following the service.

The family would welcome memorial gifts to Catholic Charities in care of the Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary in Meade, Kansas.

Personal condolences may be offered at www.fidlerormebachmanmortuary.com