Rev. Dr. Sandra Lee

The Reverend Doctor Sandra G. Lee died Friday the 23rd of June, from an unknown illness, following fifteen  days of hospitalization .  She is survived by her sister, Marsha Green, of McAlester, OK, and her spouse, Don Bell of Grand Junction.   She was born Sandra Lee Gillogly, September 1, 1942 on an island in the middle of the Republican River, between Kansas and Oklahoma near Junction City Kansas.  She graduated from Ponca City High school in 1962, and earned a BS Degree in Chemistry at the University of Central Oklahoma.  She worked in both private and Navy laboratories for 20 years, before deciding to become a Unitarian Universalist Minister.  In 1988, she obtained her Masters of Theology from Vancouver School of Theology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC  and was Ordained into the Unitarian Universalist Ministry that year at First Unitarian Church, Portland, Oregon.    In  1998, she received her Doctorate of Theology from the  University of Creation Spiriitualty in Oakland, CA.  She considered herself a naturalistic mystic,  identifying closely with Hildegard of Bingen and Matthew Fox.

She served part time at several Unitarian Universalist congregations in Washington  and Oregon before being called to full time ministry  at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation  of  Olympia, Washington. As part of that ministry, she  was consulted by several couples in regard to whether they should abort a pregnancy.  She was strongly pro-choice.  However, in counseling those couples, she always worked with them in  regard to how they would feel in the future.    So far as she learned, none of them ever chose  abortion.

Following ten years of ministry in Olympia, she was called by the  Uncompahgre Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Grand Junction, CO, where she served three years.  After leaving the church ministry, she  became a Hospice Chaplain for several years prior to retiring from Ministry.  In that "retirement" she worked nearly full time as an art jeweler and art quilt artist, winning several  national competitions with her quilts.  More recently, she has used her fabric skills to create Resistance Pussyhats for distribution to other Resistance members.

Her eclectic  polymath interests included philosophy, theology, spiritual exploration,  silversmithing, paper and fabric crafts,  winemaking, air dynamics and the manufacture of kites,  and who knows what else...  She also felt strongly that it was important  to appreciate  the artistic endeavors of others, and was an enthusiastic appreciator of all manners of art.  She studied and admired  all creation  and natural phenomena, particularly the Dark, the Stars and all Nature.  Her appreciation of  life has been exhibited by her choice of  companion creatures, which have included fish, a raccoon, a sheep, many dogs and cats, including her current friends, Rita Chipeta the Double Yellow Headed Amazon,  the felines Red Phred and the Tu-Tones (one long hair and two short hair Siamese) and her  spouse, Don.

Donations in lieu of flowers are suggested, to NARAL https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/2017search_ck/?refcode=CK_Jan2017        or

To the Charity of your choice, or to the Red Phred and the Tu-tones Support Fund co/ Don Bell, 315 Ouray Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501