Exeter - Elaine Marie Lee died Saturday, April 4, 2015, of natural causes. Elaine was born in Exeter, on March 28, 1928, and raised on River Street in an enclave of her father's siblings, the Brodericks, the children of Polish immigrants who settled in Exeter in the 1860s. Elaine went to high school at Robinson's Female Seminary, graduating in 1945. She then completed nursing school in 1948, at Nashua's St. Joseph's School of Nursing, and immediately began her nursing career at St. Joseph's Hospital. While there, she met Robert A. Lee, a Navy World War II veteran studying at St. Bonaventure College, and working a summer job as a lifeguard. They were married in 1950 (the photo of Elaine was taken as they left to go on their honeymoon). Elaine gave up nursing for a time to be a stay-at-home mother for her five children. Bob's work demanded that he be often away, and that they make frequent moves to different towns in upstate New York; Elaine expertly managing the home front and her small troop of ragamuffins. She returned to nursing in the late 1960s, also becoming involved in work issues. By the late 1970s, the kids were mostly old enough to fend for themselves and Elaine and Bob looked homeward, moving back to the enclave on River Street with their youngest, Broderick James, in tow. Broderick, an intellectually and spiritually gifted fellow, died suddenly at the age of 20, a heart-breaking event. Broderick had been in the habit of making faces at his mother through a glass back door. When he died, Elaine had the door removed. Settled in Exeter, Elaine and Bob toured Europe, developed a fondness for Bermuda, sailed the lake at their camp in the White Mountains, hosted the growing broods of their children. Bob died in 2001, and Elaine was alone for the first time in her life, a prospect that frightened her. She adapted to, and accepted, her new circumstance with her usual resoluteness, "dominoes with the girls," volunteering at blood drives, the library, holding new grandchildren. In nursing for more than 40 years, she particularly liked working in emergency rooms, enjoying the excitement, and also noting that "&#133; people who came to the emergency room were often frightened. Sometimes it was their first time in a hospital, and I could calm them and help them not be so afraid, which I enjoyed very much." Elaine is survived by her sisters, Joni Fossum (Salinas, Calif.) and Mimi Strassburger (Mill Valley, Calif.); children, Timothy Patrick (Exeter), Jonathan (Eureka, Calif.), Kerry Ellen Angie (Aurora, N.Y.), Robert Anthony (Portland, Ore.); grandchildren, Donovan, Abby, Jordan, Molly, Brittany, Danielle; and great-grandchildren, Suzanne, Javi, Naomi and Odin. . services: Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Brewitt Funeral Home, 14 Pine St., Exeter. Elaine's funeral will be at St. Michael Church in Exeter on Wednesday morning, April 8, 2015, at 10. Burial will follow in the Exeter Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the ;(function() { var adKeyValue = 't='; adKeyValue+= escape('clio=AHA'); adKeyValue += escape('&cobrand=unionleader'); adKeyValue += escape('&linktext=American Heart Association'); adKeyValue += escape('&linkurl=http://donate.heart.org/site/c.fmJUKcOZJkI8G/b.8077571/k.6133/Donate_to_American_Heart_Association/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=68LEG&trib_fname=Elaine&trib_lname=Lee&honor=true'); adKeyValue += escape('&fn=Elaine'); adKeyValue += escape('&ln=Lee'); var adClkUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=1745360680'; var adImpUrl = 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?iu=/423686928/prod/obit-aff/obit-standard/clio-inline-1&' + adKeyValue + '&sz=1x1&c=1745360680'; document.write("<a href='" + adClkUrl + "' target=_blank>American Heart Association<" + 'img' + " src='" + adImpUrl + "' style='width=1px; height=1px; display:inline;' /></a>"); }());, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX. 75231. www.brewittfunewralhome.com.