Aida R. Lee, age 97, passed away peacefully on December 21, 2023, in Brevard, North Carolina where she had traveled from St. Petersburg to spend Christmas with three of her daughters.

Aida was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, the youngest of four.  She was the mother of seven children: Joseph Frances Lee of Denver, CO.; Marcia Annette Lee (John Miller, dec.) of Phoenixville, PA; Michele L. Lee de Leon of Merida, Venezuela; Aida Isabel Lee (David P. Harris, III) of Juneau, AK; Margaret Lee Denny (Darrel Denny) of St. Petersburg, FL; Helen Denise Lee (Michael Lannan) of Mint Hill, NC; and Patricia Marie Lee (Alexander Gimon, dec.) of St. Petersburg, FL.

Her children's friends respectfully called her Mrs. Lee, but she was known to many as "Abuela" and her Guatemalan family affectionately called her "Kleine Tante" (Little Auntie). She attended elementary and high school in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, then traveled to Nashville, TN where she graduated from Ward-Belmont College, a women's two-year college. In Nashville she met and later married Robert E. Lee, who was attending Vanderbilt University. Aida subsequently raised seven children as a single parent, managing to complete a degree in Library Science with a minor in Spanish Literature at Memphis State University at the same time. After completing her degree, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida with five of her children, where she worked for the Duval County School District as a librarian and bilingual media specialist. After retirement, she remained active as a volunteer with many organizations, including Assumption Catholic Church and Hispanic Ministries in Jacksonville, as well as St. Raphael's Catholic Counsel of Women in St. Petersburg.

Her home was always full of kids, her own as well as her children's friends, whom she laughingly called her "strays."  There was always room for at least one more at the dinner table – she would just add another cup of water to the soup! The eternal optimist, she always looked for the positive in situations – after losing the sight in one eye, she responded with "well, thank the good Lord, he gave me another one!"

Aida was a woman of extraordinary faith who loved to travel, values and traits she instilled in all her children. She made many pilgrimages to various countries, including Lourdes, Medjugorje, Lisieux, Fatima, Lisbon, Guadalupe, and the Holy Lands, as well as many different countries to see the Pope, including the Dominican Republic and her own country of Guatemala. She was even able to have a private audience with Pope John Paul II when she traveled to Rome, Italy.

Aida also enjoyed sewing and various crafts. She was dedicated to helping the traveling priests by making toiletry kits for them and supported numerous other missions by beading rosaries and knitting blankets for the infirm, translating for asylees and refugees for Catholic Charities as well as for international families seeking medical care at the Ronald McDonald House, and by teaching English to migrant workers. She also sewed doll clothes to donate to the school auctions for her granddaughter, and worked diligently to raise funds for a disabled children's orphanage in her home town of Quetzaltenango. She never learned of a new baby or expectant mother without knitting a cap or a blanket for them, or otherwise trying to ensure they had everything they needed. One of the last things she did in December was to help prepare gifts for residents of the Shore Acres Nursing Home and for five foster children in need.

Aida celebrated her 90th birthday in Guatemala surrounded by family and friends, and at age 92 "Abuela's Little Library" (https://app.littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap) was established in St. Petersburg in her honor. She would say: "Read! You can do anything if you can read! And get out there and see the world!

She was preceded in death by both parents, all her siblings and two nephews. She is survived by all her children, eleven grandchildren, and three, soon to be four, great grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews, all of whom loved her dearly. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

On May 25, 2024, at 10:00 am, there will be a Funeral Mass at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1376 Snell Isle Blvd NE in St. Petersburg, Florida, 33704. Following the mass, she will be laid to rest at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 5233 118th Ave. N. Clearwater, FL 33760.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions will be accepted and sent to the orphanage for disabled children in Aida's hometown, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Hogar del Niño Minusválido Hermano Pedro (https://www.facebook.com/pages/El-hogar-del-ni%C3%B1o-minusvalido-Hermano-Pedro/204203103095681) .