Lillian E. Lees, 94

BRISTOL — Lillian Edith Lees, 94, passed away on April 12, 2022 at Concord Hospital Franklin following an extended period of declining health.

She was born in Whitefield on March 25, 1928, the daughter of Everett and Ruth (Blodgett) Hanks. Lillian was the youngest of seven children. She grew up on a farm and often shared stories about summers past. One of her favorite stories to tell was when her father would bring the corn up from the fields and give the children a snack. She also had a beloved sheep dog named Rover as well as several farm animals. She loved to go sledding down the hill at her house and watched as her brother pulled her back up.

Following high school, Lillian moved to Florida where she was employed at the Breakers Hotel. She moved to California where she had her first daughter, then Southampton, Long Island, NY, where her other four children were born. She later moving to Woodsville, to be closer to family, then moved to Barnet, VT. She has resided with her daughter Cynthia for the last 15 years. Lillian was employed as a caregiver for many years. Her favorite pastimes were bird watching and tending to her flowers. You could describe any bird or flower to her, and she would always know what kind it was. She had so many flowers and plants that people would often joke it was her jungle.

Lillian loved to spend time outside with her children playing catch. She also used to make all the kids in the neighborhood root beer floats. She was a seamstress and could fix things even when her eyesight started to go. She always told stories about all the dresses she made for school. She would share that she also had to make the lunch menu for school for one of her classes. She was a bowler and received several trophies for it. Lillian did some golfing and loved to tell the story about her son John golfing for the first time. She let her sons Wayne and John make their own pretend golf course in the backyard by sinking metal cans into the grass. Then they used their grandparents’ golf clubs to play golf. She would let her daughters Cindy and Mary pick a couple of flowers out of her garden. She told them only a few. But they always picked two mounded handfuls each. She spent a lot of time with Kathy giving her wagon rides. She also yelled at the bank for saying her daughter Cindy should wait outside with her kitten. She was a true mother! She was a good cook and made us special stuff like Baked Alaska, burgers for a bunch, homemade bread and doughnuts, also her famous Sunday luncheon loaf.

Lillian loved to cook and bake. She would often times convince her grandkids to stay a little longer and eat whatever dessert she had made. Then would tell them “Don’t tell your mother, she’ll think I spoiled your dinner!” She would say “I’m the grandma. I am supposed to spoil you!” Or she would say “A little cookie never hurt anyone!” But her most favorite dessert was Klondike bars. She would say she was stuffed from dinner and then minutes later say she had room for dessert. She always had some sort of toy from the cereal boxes to give to the grandkids and great-grandkids when they would visit. She also loved to get a happy meal from McDonald’s to get the toy. She so enjoyed spoiling her grandkids. She loved having picnics and BBQs and visiting all her children for holidays and birthdays. She never forgot any of her grandchildren’s birthdays! She loved giving birthday spankings no matter how old someone was — including Harry.

She loved to travel — she always wanted to see the sights! She could often convince her granddaughter Alyssa to take her shopping and then want “to treat her to lunch” as she would say. She loved visiting the ocean and would tell her grandkids about the ocean in Southampton, Long Island. Her most recent trip was to Florida traveling by car to see her granddaughter Melanie get married. She kept her eyes open and didn’t nap at all. She didn’t want to miss the view! She also enjoyed petting the baby alligator and feeding the sharks at an aquarium in Florida. She loved being a Mom and Grammy the most. She adored the family cat Henry and would give him rides on her walker. Henry would jump on the seat, and she would say “Hold on Henry I’ll give you a ride!” The cat Daisy would meow so much that Lillian would carry on conversations with her. The cat Frosty would snuggle up with Lillian and keep her feet warm. She loved all the animals, but Henry was attached to her. Up until her last moments she told stories about her family. Lillian will greatly be missed and her stories too. Her grandchildren would give anything for another story.

She is survived by her daughter, Katherine Troy and husband Jerry of Bath; son, Wayne Lees and wife Belinda of North Haverhill; daughter, Cynthia Marsh and husband Harry of Bristol; daughter, Mary Young-Coathup and husband Robert; daughter-in-law, Deborah Lees of Swiftwater; sister-in-law, Lottie Hanks of Boscawen; 18 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren; and she was expecting to have her first great-great-grandchild in June; numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her family, she has an extended nursing family and dietary staff of eight months at Concord Hospital Franklin where she developed a strong bond to many staff members. She is predeceased by her son John Lees of Swiftwater, and grandson Andrew Troy of Bath.

A graveside service will be held on Sunday, May 1, 2022 at Pine Street Cemetery in Whitefield at 1 p.m. A reception is planned to follow. The family will know more details surrounding the reception closer to May 1.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name to the Bristol Fire Company, 85 Lake Street, Bristol, NH 03222.

Dupuis Funeral Home in Ashland is handling the arrangements. For more information go to dupuisfuneralhome.com