Clara Lelia “Lee” Given, 97, of Clover Lick, passed away Friday, December 2, at Pocahontas Memorial Hospital in Buckeye.
Born March 28, 1919, in Clay County, she was a daughter of the late Rev. Jesse W. Paxton and Zona Fitzwater Paxton.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Rodney H. Given, who died in 2014; a sister, Laura, who died at birth; and a brother, Emerald K. Paxton.
Lee graduated from Widen High School in 1937 and was a graduate of Glenville State College. She also attended Morris Harvey College and West Virginia University. She taught school in Clay and Kanawha counties.
Lee and Rod were married in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1944. During World War II, she worked for the war effort as a teletype operator in Arlington, Virginia. She also worked for the war effort in Akron, Ohio.
She was an avid reader and had been an active member of a state sponsored book club. She was a long-time member of the St. Albans Garden Club.
Lee joined the Baptist church at an early age, attending churches in Clay, Kanawha and Greenbrier counties. She lived most of her life in the Kanawha Valley and was an active member of First Baptist Church, St. Albans, before moving to Lewisburg in the early 2000s. She attended Shuck Memorial Baptist Church, Lewisburg.
She is survived by her son, David, and wife, Sunny, of Clover Lick; niece, Nancy Salmi, of Wisconsin; nephews, Michael Paxton and wife, Jeanne Nemcek, of Illinois, Dr. Mark Paxton, and wife, Dr. Margaret Weaver, of Missouri, and Mike Given, and wife, Vikki, and Allen Given, all of Ohio; several grand-and great-grand-nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Lee’s life will be held Saturday, December 10, at 11 a.m. at Shuck Memorial Baptist Church, Lewisburg, with Rev. Joel Harpold, of First Baptist, St. Albans, officiating. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Interment in Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens, Cross Lanes. There will be no graveside service. Morgan Funeral Home, Lewisburg, is serving the family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lee’s memory to Shuck Memorial Baptist Church, 210 West Washington Street, Lewisburg, WV 24901.
