Lee Davis Howard, of
Oskaloosa, IA passed
away Tuesday, March 15,
2022, at White Oak Estates
in Oskaloosa. Visitation
will be on Thursday,
March 24, 2022, from
4:00 – 7:00 p.m. with the
funeral service being held
at 10:30 a.m. on Friday,
March 25, 2022, at Langkamp
Funeral Chapel in
Oskaloosa, IA.
Memorial contributions
can be made to Stephen
Memorial Animal Shelter.
Lee, daughter of Louis
Wesley and Bertha Martha
(Hofemann) Davis,
was born February 2,
1940, in Redfield, South
Dakota. At the age of
eleven, she became a girl
scout and had a paper
route, and she bought herself a bike. At age 13,
she quit her paper route
and began working at the
local theater as an usher,
cashier, and at the concession
stand. At age 16, she
took a second job at the
Red Owl Grocery Store.
She became a majorette
while attending high
school; she loved twirling
and marching with the
band.
In 1958, she married
Duane Schutjer; they
lived in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, before
moving to Oskaloosa
and becoming involved
with her husband’s
family at Tower Park
Nursing Home. Lee’s
mother-in-law’s goal
for Lee was to turn her
into an excellent nurse’s
aide. She was unsure she
wanted to care for people
but soon learned to love
it. In 1966, she and her
husband graduated from
L.P.N. school at Indian
Hills Community College
in Ottumwa. Lee was
initiated into the Oskaloosa
Altrusa Club in 1969. Through the University
of Iowa, she and her
husband became nursing
home administrators and
got their licenses in 1971.
Lee then became the administrator
of Tower Park
Nursing Home.
Lee and Duane were
blessed with two children,
Michael Herman
and Clarice Lee. After
their divorce in 1980,
Lee continued to manage
the nursing homes and
employed both of her
children. In 1981, Lee
decided to fulfill her high
school dream of attending
modeling school. She
attended classes in the
evening and on Saturdays
and graduated from
Vogue Modeling in Des
Moines. Lee always said
that being a nurse was
so much more rewarding
and glad she had not
followed the modeling
dream further.
Lee married Russell
Howard on August
28, 1982. Snow skiing
was a new adventure
for her, and she loved vacationing in Steamboat
Springs, Colorado. Lee
also enjoyed cooking,
entertaining, sewing
and music. Her father
taught her to play the
guitar when she was 14
years old. She sewed her
daughter’s bridesmaids’
dresses and made her
son several Elvis Presley
suits. Lee’s children and
grandchildren were such
a joy to her, and she loved
spending time with them.
Lee loved animals and
had many pets throughout
her life. In 1992, she
became an interior decorator.
Lee never missed
Joel Osteen’s sermons on
T.V., Sunday evenings,
and days throughout
the week. Growing up,
she always attended the
Methodist Church and
Methodist Youth Fellowship.
In 1995, Lee had
breast cancer and became
a breast cancer survivor.
Her family includes her
son, Michael Schutjer
and a daughter, Clarice
Lee (Steve) Wright; three
grandchildren: Alexander, Alexis, and Andrew;
a brother, Clark (Rosa)
Davis of Redfield, SD; a
half-sister, Mavis Schroeder
of Watertown, SD;
and nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents,
Lee was preceded in
death by two husbands, a brother, Clayton Davis,
a sister, Darlene Collins,
and three half-sisters:
Ethel Morris, Edith Hardie,
and Doris Benning
and two half-brothers:
Louis “Bud” Davis and
Wesley Davis.