BLUE HILL – Anni Lee, 102, passed away quietly Jan. 24, 2006. The above photo, taken on her 99th birthday, shows what a beauty she was. In describing her life to a friend several years ago, she unknowingly wrote her own obituary because the friend faithfully wrote it all down. “I was born of Austrian parents in Milwaukee, Wis., July 26, 1903. When I was 21, I married Leonard Lee, a Canadian, and our daughter was born in 1927. My husband traveled, selling medical instruments. He died in an automobile accident five years after our marriage. I continued living in Milwaukee with my daughter, close to my parents. But it wasn’t easy supporting myself and my little girl during The Depression. I was lucky to get a civil service job with the city of Milwaukee. For more than 30 years, I served in the tax department and assisted as an interpreter for the German-speaking population. I enjoyed many adventures that were unconventional for a woman of that time, such as water-skiing, flying in a single engine airplane and having my hair bleached and bobbed so I could be on stage at the Pabst Theater. I won a statuette award for my bowling and I loved to dance. Although I never remarried, my life was full and blessed with love, especially for my daughter. In my later years, there were many health issues two bouts with advanced cancer and three joint replacements, but I survived them all because of my deep Catholic faith and a healthy sense of humor. In 1993, I moved from Milwaukee to the Parker Ridge Retirement Community in Blue Hill to be close to my daughter and son-in-law, who gave me a grand celebration on my 100th birthday, over 80 people came. There never has been any doubt in my mind about the decisions I have made in my life. I have been blessed and happy. When someone asks me for my philosophy of life, I say live your life as if it belongs to you!” Anni charmed everyone she met, from young women whom she offered dating advice and the secret to her legendary complexion to staid New England matrons who ate up her hilarious wisecracks. She touched so many lives. While she loved people, she adored children and animals. Anni was a true original. She was very proud to have received the Boston Post cane for being the oldest person in her community. The family is extremely grateful to the staff of the Parker Ridge Assisted Living wing who gave her the kind of loving, extraordinary care one seldom finds outside of a family. Thanks, too, to everyone at hospice who spent so many hours and days giving her comfort. She is survived by her daughter, Cherie Mason and her son-in-law, Kenneth, who live in Sunset on Deer Isle; her step-granddaughter, Shelley of New York City; and her nephew, Ronald E. Wernitznig and his wife, Mary Ann, of Springfield, Va. There will be a reception at Parker Ridge to celebrate her life, sometime soon. Since she wished to be cremated, her ashes will be scattered in the sea, which she loved. Donations in her memory can be made to The Ark Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 277, Cherryfield, ME 04622 and The Acadia Wildlife Foundation, P.O. Box 207, Mt. Desert, ME 04660.
ANN ‘ANNI’ LEE
