Leon “Lee” Henry Daane

03/17/1931

06/04/2022

Memorial Contributions:

Emmanuel Hospice 

https://emmanuelhospice.org/ 

or

American Cancer Society 

https://donate3.cancer.org/

Leon “Lee” Henry Daane, age 91 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, passed away on Saturday, June 4, 2022. He was born on March 17, 1931, to the late Henry and Jeanette Daane who were also lifelong residents of Grand Rapids.

Lee graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in 1950 and began working for Consumers Power Company the same year. He served in the Army in 1952 during the Korean War where he was assigned to build and maintain telephone communications. He was honorably discharged in 1954 and returned working for Consumers Power Company until his retirement in 1994. He married his high school sweetheart, Delores “Dee” Oudbier in 1954 and had 4 children. Lee and Dee were together for 65 years before her death in 2019.

Lee was predeceased by his wife, Dee; son, Douglas; sister, Mary VanderKooy; brother, David; and brother in-law, Simon VanderKooy. He is survived by his son, Steven (Mary Booth); daughters, Lori (Sheri Rush) and Kristi; grandchildren, Austin and Gerrit; sister-in-law, Jean Daane; and several nieces and nephews.

Lee was very social and was loved by everyone who met him. He was silly, funny, and kind. He loved his family and had a strong faith in God. He had great skills to engage people and loved to tell stories. He was honored to serve his country and had many stories including being stationed across from a MASH unit where he often donated blood directly to wounded soldiers. He recently told his niece that he avoided being shot in Korea by climbing on the south side of the poles. That was classic Lee humor. He lived his life joyfully and loved fishing, gardening, sailing, and cross-country skiing. He created lasting memories for family and friends during summers living at the family cottage on Silver Lake in Rockford, Michigan. In retirement, he loved managing his small hobby farm that included maintaining hiking trails, bird watching, gardening, and taking care of his chickens, goats, and miniature horses. Many people experienced first-hand his wild Gator UTV driving around the farm. He loved singing Christian Hymns and the family is grateful that many visitors sang or provided music while he was in long-term care and hospice.

A memorial service followed by a luncheon will be held at Fifth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at 11:00 am. Visitation will be held 1 hour before the service. For those unable to attend, the option of watching his service stream live online is available at https://youtu.be/JUxgejjFZt8. Lee would want love and laughter instead of flowers. Please consider donations to Emmanuel Hospice at https://emmanuelhospice.org/ or the American Cancer Society at https://donate3.cancer.org/.

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One Response

  1. Rest in pease Mr Leon Dane , it was Pleasure to work with you at Consumes Energy

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