Delores Lee Kuranko died June 19, 2007 on Whidbey Island with generations of her loving family at her side.
Born in Minneapolis, Minn. on Oct. 2, 1930, Lee was the only child of Dorotha and Alfred Larson.
She married Charles George Kuranko on Feb. 23, 1952 and they moved to Seattle to begin their life together. A life which had them moving to the Plains states and back again, twice.
The six children they had together fulfilled a desire she had for a house full of kids going back to her youth as an only child on a farm in Savage, Minn. Lee and Chuck were able to celebrate 50 years of marriage with family and friends before Chuck pre-deceased her in 2003.
Lee is survived by her six children, Larry, Sharon, Ken, Robin, Connie and Paul; and her 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; Quinton, Jennifer, Kristy, Erik, Matthew, Natasha, Maria, Esmeralda, Kara, Abby, Ada, Elias and Chelaia, all of whom will miss her daily.
Lee worked at Queen City Savings in the 1970s and then went on to a career at the University of Washington. She always talked with great affection about the students she worked with at the UW. She called them her “kids.”
Lee was always passionate about politics and supported selected causes and candidates based on merit rather than party. She belonged to the League of Women Voters and the Kiwanis Club. After retirement from the UW she tutored at elementary schools, and numerous other community activities through the Kiwanis Club of South Whidbey, Lee was also an active assistant in the juvenile divergence program, as well as being a volunteer at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. She was a participating member of the ACLU and belonged to local book clubs and bridge clubs.
Lee loved to travel and her travel adventures continued to expand as she grew older. As a young mother, with a car full of kids, she and Chuck traveled throughout the west. With the children grown they finished their exploration of the U.S. by car and flew to Central America, Europe and China. Lee continued her passion for travel with family and friends after Chuck’s death – traveling to Spain, Mexico, France, as well as regularly visiting her children and grandchildren in California and the Northeast.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to one of Lee’s favorite charities: Kiwanis of South Whidbey, PO Box 153, Langley WA 98260, c/o president Dick Guyse.
