Leola Marguerite Culley

Leola "Lee" Marguerite Culley, 91 of Fort Collins passed away December 12,
2015 at her home with her family by her side. She was born in Endicott, New
York on June 22, 1924 to Roy and Ethel (Cross) Avery. Growing up on a farm
near Newark Valley, Lee literally walked miles through all kinds of weather just
to get to school, so great was her love for learning. Throughout her life, Lee was
involved in clubs and sports. Being a competitive athlete, Lee was on the varsity
basketball and lacrosse teams in college where she earned a bachelor's degree
in Elementary Education from Houghton College in New York.

Following graduation, Lee was a secretary to the Dean of the School of Industrial
and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where she later met her future
husband Jack Culley, who was working on his PhD. Lee also was a secretary for
North American Aviation Co. in Long Beach, California and worked as an
executive secretary to the plant manager at Procter and Gamble. Jack and Lee
married on January 28, 1956 in Ithaca, New York and made their home in Iowa
City, Iowa where Jack was the director of the Bureau of Labor Management at
the University of Iowa. In 1965, Lee and her family set out for a new adventure
and travelled to Liberia, West Africa where they spent two years while Jack
worked on a USAID program in which he started the new College of Business at
the University of Monrovia. In 1968, Lee and Jack moved to Fort Collins,
Colorado as Jack was offered a director and professor position at Colorado State
University in the college of business. Over the years, Lee and Jack travelled the
world taking in as many sites and as much history as possible.

While living in Fort Collins, Lee held many voluntary positions in an effort to
make a difference for others. She lived a life of service to others, and among
many volunteer positions she held, she was president of her local Church
Women United, president of Christ United Methodist Church women's group
and president of Colorado State University Women's group. Lee enjoyed
reading, singing, playing cards, genealogy, going to the mountains, and spending
endless hours with her children and grandchildren whom she was so proud of.
Lee's first priority, always, was her family, and she will be deeply missed, as she
was the rock that held this family together.

Lee is survived by her son, James Culley of Fort Collins, Colorado; daughter, Jean
(Darius) Taylor of Parker, Colorado; son, Larry (Margaret) Culley of Midway,
Utah; nine grandchildren, Erin (Matthew) Stewart, Ryan Culley, Jaime Culley,
Aleela Taylor, Kasserine Taylor, Darius Taylor II, Juliana Taylor, Ronald Jackson
Culley and Matthew David Culley; two great grandchildren, Brenna Stewart and
Makenna Stewart.

Lee was preceded in death by her husband, Jack in 2007; parents, Roy and Ethel
Avery; five siblings, Robert Avery, Emerson Avery, Richard Avery, Loretta Avery
and Bernard Avery.

There will be a traditional funeral service at 1:00 PM, Saturday, December 19th
at Christ United Methodist Church, 301 East Drake Road, Fort Collins, Colorado.
A private interment will be held, 11:00 AM, Monday, December 21 st at Fort
Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. The family welcomes, and are
grateful for, all who remember Lee and would like to attend her memorial
service on Saturday.