Kathryn “Katie” Ellen Lee, 75, of Independence, passed into God’s loving care on July 13, 2025.
Despite enduring some tragic circumstances, she felt she had a happy life surrounded by
immeasurable love.
Katie was born to Robert and Rita (Lyga) Helgeson of Independence on July 1, 1950, at
Whitehall Memorial Hospital. She attended SSPP Catholic grade school and graduated from
Independence High School in 1968. On October 30, 1971, she married her high school
sweetheart, Lonnie Lee. She worked for Dr. C.F. Mayer and then for 34 years at the Gundersen
Clinic-Whitehall, before retiring in 2012.
Her most precious job was that of being a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. Her
four grandchildren were the light of her life and she cherished the time she spent with them.
The values she lived by—faith, kindness, and unconditional love—will continue to guide and
inspire her family for generations to come.
She enjoyed walking, biking, reading, rocking babies, listening to music, cooking, volunteering,
and let’s not forget…..cleaning! Katie spent many hours keeping the SSPP school, church, and
community clean, including her stretch of Adopt-a-Highway that she maintained meticulously
throughout the years.
She also loved to travel and was grateful to have had the opportunity to do so with her sister,
Ellen and her family. This included trips to most of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe,
the British Isles, Canada, the Bahamas, the ancestral homeland of her Lyga family in Popielow,
Poland, the Rocky Mountains, and most recently Kiawah Island for her granddaughter’s
wedding.
Katie loved her family and she fulfilled the matriarch role by planning and hosting multiple family
gatherings and reunions. She was the glue that held her large family together. She also built
and cherished many friendships over the years, including that of her “Cupcake” friends and her
British pen pal of more than 60 years.
Like her mother Rita and grandma Helen, she had a “servant’s heart”, always putting the needs
of others before her own. She felt complete joy in helping others in any way she could, as
kindness was part of her daily life. She was never afraid of hard work and took great
satisfaction in a job well done. She volunteered in many capacities for the betterment of her
Parish and community including: church sacristan, lector, Pastoral Council, Restoration
Committee, PCCW, Rosary Society, Red Hat Society, American Legion Legion Auxiliary, SSPP
Education Committee and Independence Library Board.
She was proud of her Polish heritage and had steadfast love of God, her Catholic faith, and SS
Peter and Paul Catholic Church where she was baptized, confirmed, married and where she
enjoyed singing in the choir. She had the incredible experience of traveling to Philadelphia to
see Pope Francis, a pilgrimage that deepened her faith and remained one of the most treasured
memories of her life.
Katie is survived by her daughter, Heather (Paul) Franzwa of Mondovi and son, Nathan (Carmen)
Lee of Independence; grandchildren: Jenna (Ethan) Robinson of Charlotte, NC; Ryleigh
Franzwa (Tyler Radatz) of Eau Claire; and Jonah and Greta Lee of Independence; sister: Ellen “Ellie” (Rob
Irving) Hayes of Budapest, Hungary; brothers: Michael (Patricia) Helgeson of Oak Creek; John “Jack”
(Anne) Helgeson and Mark (Patti) Helgeson of Independence; Thomas “Snug” (Kris) Helgeson and Greg
(Carolyn) Helgeson of Eau Claire; sisters-in-law: Pauline Helgeson of Independence, Sue Lee of New
Berlin, and Lois (Jim) Walek of Milwaukee; many nieces, nephews, cousins, as well as a very special
guardian angel friend: Sister Kathleen Welscher of Rochester.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 44 years, Lonnie Lee; her parents;
Brother, Jim Helgeson; mother and father in-law: Margaret and Tilford Lee; brothers-in-law
Hansel Lee and Charles Lee; beloved aunts and uncles and their spouses, several cousins and
dear friends: Barb Yapp, Ann Halama, and Judy Schlesser.
Our hearts will be forever grateful to her family and friends who provided care and compassion
and enabled Katie to spend the rest of her life in her home. Also, many thanks to Mayo Oncology
team in Rochester, MN and Mayo Hospice for their diligence and care over the last few months.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at S.S. Peter and Paul
Catholic Church with Father George officiating. Family and friends are welcome for visitation from 4 to 7
p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2025 at S.S. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and also one hour prior to the mass
on Saturday. Burial will be in the church cemetery. A luncheon will be served in the dining hall after
services. Memorials may be designated to SSPP School or SSPP Restoration Fund. To express
condolences to her family online, please visit http://www.edisonfuneralhome.com.
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