Eleanor Marie (Sally) Swinson Lee

Eleanor Marie (Sally) Swinson Lee

June 13, 2021, 82, Goldsboro –

Eleanor Marie (Sally) Swinson Lee, age 82, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, June 13, 2021, at Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, with family by her side.

She was a proud member of the North Duplin High School Class of 1957 and looked forward to seeing her classmates at annual reunions. She was a graduate of the cosmetology program at Lenoir Community College and owned several small businesses. Her best roles in life were being a loving, dedicated wife and mother, grandmother, and GiGi. She was a long-time member of New Hope Baptist Church in Kinston where she assisted with Bible school and Cub Scouts. In recent years she was also a member of Gordon Street Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Kinston. She was a strong woman, known for her beautiful smile and a true Southern lady to all who knew her. She loved going to the beauty salon every Friday morning and seeing her friends. She loved crocheting and crocheted all her grandchildren and most of her great-grandchildren a special blanket. She loved designing and making beaded jewelry. More than anything, she loved her Lord and her family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Macon and Ruby Hargrove Swinson; her husband of nearly 50 years, Bert M. Lee, Sr.; a grandson, Mason Kyle Lee; brothers, Hilbert (Joe) Swinson and Macon Forrest Swinson, Sr.; and wife, Emily, and a sister, Janet Swinson Byrd.

She is survived by siblings, Norman (Minky) Swinson of Mount Olive, and Gail Swinson-Brinson of Calypso; her five children, Dean Lee Mizner and husband, Gary, of Kinston, Marsha Lee Rowntree and husband, Ed, of Jacksonville, Bert M. Lee, Jr. and wife, Marty, of Kinston, Cheryl Lee Coats and husband, David, of High Point, and Mark J. Lee and wife, Soonie, of Cary. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren who affectionately called her Granny. They are Eric Davis and wife, Kelly Hughes-Davis, Kimberly Mizner, Brittany Mizner Shore and husband, Tyler, Evan Rowntree and wife, Amy, Elizabeth Rowntree Duty and husband, Thomas Duty III, Jason Lee and wife, Kayla, Casey lee Rouse and husband, Mark, Ashley Coats, Joshua Coats and wife, Meredith, Daphne Lee Sawatzky and husband, Scott, Jamie Lee, and John Lee. Her pride and joy were her 15 great-grandchildren who came to call her GiGi. She was also thrilled to learn recently that she would be expecting two more great-grandchildren this fall.

Also surviving Mrs. Lee is her brother-in-law, Thomas Mitchell Byrd of Cary; sister-in-law, Jean D. Swinson of Calypso; a host of nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly; a special neighbor, Janice Wade; a special caregiver, Shaundra Price; and finally, her spoiled fur baby, Cookie, who was her constant companion for the last 10 years.

Funeral services will be conducted at Tyndall Funeral Home in Mount Olive on Wednesday, June 16, at 2 p.m. Interment will follow in Maplewood Cemetery in Mount Olive. Officiating will be the Rev. Doug Stokes and the Rev. Paul Rose. The family will receive friends at the funeral home during the hour before the service. For those desiring to honor Mrs. Lee’s memory with a memorial gift, the family suggests Kitty Askins Hospice Center, 107 Handley Park Court, Goldsboro, N.C. 27534.

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