Sylvia Louise (Watkins) Lee

Decatur ~ Sylvia Louise Lee, 88, went to be with our Lord Friday, March 12, 2021 in Graham, Texas.

Funeral Service is 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur with burial in Oaklawn Cemetery. Family will receive friends 5-7 p.m. Monday, March 15, 2021 at the funeral home.

Pastor Gary Choate will officiate. Pallbearers will include Todd Smith, Kelly Horn, Tony Horn, Tony Van Baale, Fernando Cantu, and Hildo De La Cruz.

Sylvia Louise Watkins was born November 7, 1932 to Lucas Clell and Ione Elizabeth (Ridenour) Watkins in Tipton, Oklahoma. She graduated from Bowie High School in Bowie, Texas in 1950. Louise married Vernon Smith, Jr. on June 14, 1950. Together they had one son, Jerry, and two daughters, Sharon and Leslie, they divorced in 1964.  Louise was united in marriage February 8, 1966 to Walter Eugene Lee, they had one child, Carla. In 1980, Louise graduated from Cooke County College with a degree in nursing. She worked as a licensed vocational nurse at the Decatur Community Hospital until her retirement in 1997. Louise was a talented artist and turned her hand to several different media including oil and watercolor painting, sewing, and quilting. For almost 20 years, she operated a quilting business which kept her surrounded by friends and provided an outlet for her boundless creativity. Louise was an avid gardener and loved working in her flower beds.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Walter Eugene Lee; her son, Jerry Smith; her sisters, Dollie Chester of Decatur, and Agnes Moore of Vashti.

Those left behind to cherish her memory are her daughters, Sharon VanBaale and husband Gene of Jacksboro, Leslie Fletcher and husband Micheal of May, and Carla Lee Johnson and husband James of Decatur; her twin sister, Lucille Stevens of Decatur; and sister Bettie Wylie and husband Charles of Arlington; also 5 grandchildren and their spouses; numerous great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren;  many nieces, nephews, and a host of other family and friends that brought joy to her life every day.