Jo Ellen Alhorn Lee
Honoring the memory of his wife, Jo Ellen, was important to Robert E. Lee. Robert was searching for a means to memorialize Jo Ellen in a way that would honor the person she was, the kindness she showed him and others, when he learned of the unrestricted funds at LCCF and decided to establish one.
The couple lived in Bedford for many years before moving to Arizona. They met at Wendy’s when Robert stopped to refuel after running a race in Bloomington and Jo Ellen was working the drive-through. Jo Ellen made quite an impression and Robert knew he wanted to marry her. They enjoyed nearly twelve years of marriage when Jo Ellen was diagnosed with glioblastoma. After a four-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, Jo Ellen passed away.
“She was quiet, not flamboyant in any way,” Robert said. She had a kind heart and loved animals. She volunteered at dog kennels in Lawrence County and as a child raised three abandoned baby sparrows. Cancer couldn’t diminish her love and care for animals. While recuperating from her second craniotomy, she and Robert were walking past a fountain when Jo Ellen noticed a pigeon stuck in the sump of the fountain. Robert encouraged Jo Ellen to keep walking, but she wouldn’t budge. Cancer had taken away her ability to talk, but she made it clear she wasn’t leaving the pigeon behind. Jo Ellen got down on her knees and reached into the sump to rescue the pigeon. With wings flapping and water spraying everywhere, Jo Ellen was drenched, and the pigeon was safely placed on the sidewalk.
“We weren’t real social people. I was never any good with girls, but she was a girl who accepted me as a companion, and I was forever in her debt for that. There was not enough I could do for her, and I owed that to her, to honor her and thank her for accepting me, eccentricities, and all.” With this goal in mind, Robert established an endowment in her honor.
The Jo Ellen Alhorn Lee Unrestricted Fund began with the money Jo Ellen had saved from her job at Wendy’s. Because of a matching opportunity, her fund quickly grew. Robert continues to make contributions to her fund to ensure it grows and gives back in perpetuity. Robert established Jo Ellen’s fund as an unrestricted fund because it can evolve to assist with the changing needs of the community. “She’d be thrilled to realize she went from someone who made $6.07 an hour to helping other people now,” Robert said.
Jo Ellen’s generous spirit and legacy will continue throughout time through the fund Robert established in her memory.