Rev. Lawson Gerald LEE

Enid News and Eagle Enid, Garfield Co., OK

11-25-2011

Submitted by: Jo Aguirre

The funeral for Rev. Lawson Gerald Lee, 93, retired Methodist minister of Enid, will be 10 a.m. Monday, November 28, 2011 at Enid Cemetery Chapel, with Dr. Grayson Lucky, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Enid, officiating. Burial will follow in Enid Cemetery under direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.

He was born on May 9, 1918, in Homestead. Oklahoma, to George W. and Cecille Smith Lee and died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, at his home in Enid. He attended Homestead school, where he earned the Oklahoma Honor Society award in Athletics scholarship. He was valedictorian, both of his grade school and high school. He represented his school as a violin soloist, tenor soloist and in quartet. He was a member of the track team and was chosen as a member of the Conference All Star basketball team. He then attended NWU, SMU and USC. He became a United Methodist minister serving churches in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Uruguay, where he was appointed missionary. In Lima, Peru, he was the national director of Church World Services. He helped with the responsibility of rebuilding that country after the terrible earthquake of 1970. He directed one of the largest mission programs in the world. In Uruguay, he served 21 years and established churches and built a church. For 131?2 years, he was district superintendent. Also, he was the executive secretary and national head of the Methodist Church of Uruguay. In Enid, he managed Root Real Estate-Century 21 for his brother, Ike Root.

At 15, he made and played his violin. He was a carpenter, builder, photographer, painter, wrote books, edited and made them at home, collected postal stamps from Uruguay and recorded and collected diverse music. He built and assembled electric organs for three churches and restored family photographs.

He is survived by his wife, Elsa E. Martinez of the home; daughter, Susana Rivera of Hemet, Calif.; sisters, Edith Bannon and husband Orville of Oregon and Wanda Waken of Enid; brothers, T.J. Root of Homestead, Okla., and Snooky Root and wife Glenna of Kansas; cousins, Glendina Bosser of Woodward, Okla., Joann Hays and husband Cameron of Okeene and Ann Louis Soto and husband Juan of Florida; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, grandparents, seven brothers and four sisters.