Julie K. Lee

September 12, 1943 - March 31, 2022

Julie K. Lee, 78, of Beloit, WI, passed away on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center. Julie was born on September 12, 1943, in Rockford, Illinois, to the late Murrell and Marion (Southam) Cotner. She graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 1961 and married Ralph Lee on March 28, 1964, and raised two sons in Beloit. She began working as a teacher’s aide and then earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from UW-Whitewater. She was employed by the Beloit School District for over 25 years. Julie loved helping students learn, and she sought to provide a stable, caring environment for all of them. Julie enjoyed learning about her Swedish ancestry and traveled multiple times to Sweden to meet family and explore the culture. She loved introducing Swedish food to others, especially at Christmastime. Being surrounded by family was her favorite thing, and she would drop everything to enjoy time together. She cherished the family vacations, especially to the Medicine Bow range of Wyoming, returning numerous times. She was a long-time member of Jefferson Prairie Lutheran Church. She lived out her faith in her daily life and was involved in many church activities. She sang in the choir for years, served on the Music & Worship committee, taught Sunday School and VBS, co-led the youth group, and helped to organize the Family Promise outreach program at the church. She would go out of her way to help anyone less fortunate–by giving them food, money and time. She loved reading, collecting garden gnomes, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, solving sudoku puzzles, watching the Tour de France and Kentucky Derby, cheering for the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Wisconsin Badgers, repeatedly watching The Sound of Music, and listening to Neil Diamond, John Denver and Josh Groban. Julie is survived by her sons, Paul (Sarah) Lee, Matthew (Laura) Lee, and her “additional” son Anthony (Joy) Bosco; grandson, Thomas (Melanie); granddaughters, Rachel, Allison, Catherine and Elizabeth; and great grandson, Benjamin. She is further survived by her brother, Tom (Mary Ann) Cotner, and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ralph and sister, Jean. Other relatives and countless friends will miss her kind, helpful spirit, as will her immediate family. Visitation of remembrance will be from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Jefferson Prairie Lutheran Church, 23184 Bergen Rd. Poplar Grove, IL, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Linda Winkelman officiating. Burial will be in Jefferson Prairie Cemetery. Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium, 2355 Cranston Rd., Beloit, WI, assisted the family with arrangements. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to Family Promise.