Irene May (Lee) Hill, 91, formerly of 235 East High Street, Milton, died Friday, May 20, 2005 at the Memorial Community Hospital Long Term Care, Edgerton, Wisconsin where she had lived since 1997. She was born in Poygan, Wisconsin, May 3, 1914 the daughter of Henry and Lillie (Heisinger) Lee. She grew up on a farm there.
Descended from early Wisconsin families, the Lee family emigrated from England to New York State in 1848, farming there in Oneida County until 1854 when they moved to the south shore of Lake Poygan, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. The original homestead still exists and the land continues in the Lee family. The Heisinger family fled Dresden, Saxony during the Revolution of 1848, eventually settling on the shores of Lake Winnebago south of Oshkosh. Their land today is the Paukotuk neighborhood of the city, site of the eastern-most village of the Ho-Chunks. The head of that family, Julius, studied art in Leipzig and Rome. He became a portraitist in oils in Dresden. Most are in private collections, with three paintings in the Oshkosh Public Museum and a self-portrait done at age 19 in the Historical Museum in Old City Hall of Leipzig.
Irene worked for a time in the household of Steve Wittman, the famed pioneer racing aviator whose name was given the airfield in Oshkosh. In 1942, she moved to Edgerton and lived with her oldest brother and family. Later, she moved to Janesville where she worked at Parker Pen, making parts for bombs during the war effort. There, she met her future husband. Irene married Gerald Hill in Oshkosh, June 30, 1945. She was a homemaker after her marriage. They moved to the home they built in Milton in 1949. Her husband died April 27, 1990. She was a member of the Milton United Methodist Church, active in the women's groups of that church, and of the Milton Women's Club.
Irene is survived by a son, Gene Hill, Portland, Maine; a daughter, Karen (William) Huebner, Milton; three grandchildren: Jennifer Huebner, Tarrytown, New York; Michelle (Greg) Kolinski, Oxnard, California; and Chase Huebner, Milton; a brother, Wallace Lee of Janesville; a sister, Jeanette Wesner of Borth; and sister-in-law Verna Lee of Ripon; Elizabeth Lee of Neenah; Maud Fuchs and Winnefred (Robert) Schmidt, both of Milton.
Her husband, parents and brothers Russell, Milton and Arnold Lee predeceased her.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at the Milton United Methodist Church with Pastor Wesley White officiating. Burial will be in the Milton Junction Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Milton United Methodist Church. The Whitcomb-Lynch-Albrecht Funeral Home, Milton is assisting the family.
The family wishes to particularly thank the doctors and staff of Memorial Community Hospital Long Term Care for the excellent care given Irene for the years she lived in Edgerton.
