One more post about my mom, her obituary: Lillian Lee Smith Weaver died peacefully on April 14, 2014. Preceded in death by her life-long love, Jerry, she is survived by her seven children. Lee was born on August 30, 1924 to Walter and Lillian Rose Smith, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Her early years were spent in small towns in Oklahoma, as Walter took pastorates in various Baptist churches. During a family visit to Hanford, California in 1936, her father preached in a Baptist church on a Sunday night and was subsequently offered the pastorate. So, like many other “Okies” during the Dust Bowl era, Lee’s family loaded up the car and moved to California’s Central Valley. After graduating from Hanford High School in 1942, Lee enrolled at Redlands University. Two years later, she transferred to San Jose State College where she finished her degree in education with a music emphasis. Her father was then pastor of the First Baptist Church of Redwood City, which is where she met Cecil Gerald (Jerry) Weaver, a US Navy sailor from North Carolina. They were married on June 28, 1946, a week after Lee graduated from college. Following seminary study in Berkeley, Jerry and Lee answered the call and were appointed by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society to the Belgian Congo on March 23, 1953. They served for 35 years in what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lee concentrated on women’s work in community development, baby clinics and literacy. She ministered to the leper colony, conducting Bible studies and outreach to these “untouchables”. She was also mom to her seven children: Rusty, Suzanne, Cindy, Pamela, Cecily, Colette, and Joel. Jerry and Lee were instrumental in starting The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK) in 1961. From 1974 to 1982, Lee served as front office manager, nurse, surrogate mom, and confidante to students and staff. In addition to providing strong encouragement to her Congolese and expatriate brothers and sisters, Lee was especially effective in reaching across barriers to touch the lives of those in the wider international community. In June of 1989, Jerry and Lee retired to settle in Watsonville, CA, to be near several of their children. This didn’t last long, as they accepted an offer to manage the Christian Guest House in Bangkok, Thailand for 2 years. Upon their return, they were asked to come back to Congo as house parents for missionary children for a year. When they finally settled in Watsonville in the mid-1990s, they became active in the First Baptist Church of Santa Cruz. During their final years of life, Lee and Jerry were residents of The Terraces of Los Altos. Lee was known as a joyful and loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend, confidante and mentor. She is remembered as a woman who tried hard to love everyone, even, as she used to say, “those we don’t like!” Her life of dedication to Jesus and acceptance of His call to be a light and blessing is a testimony. She often said that she wanted her epitaph to read: “She loved God and made people laugh”. A memorial celebration for Lee will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at The Terraces, 373 Pine Lane, Los Altos, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances be sent to: American Baptist International Ministries, ”Congo Missionaries,” PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA, 19482. Condolences may be sent to Cindy Weaver Graham at: 1207 Hester Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126 OR by email: mwasi.cg@gmail
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 00:16:51 +0000
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