Conly Lee, 77, of Libby

Conly Bennett Lee, 77, went home to the Lord, passing into heaven on Sept. 15, 2014, at Libby after suffering a heart attack.  

Conly was born to Byron and Inez (Beck) Lee on Jan. 27, 1937, at Havre, and lived in Ferndale with his parents until joining the U.S. Navy in November of 1954. He received the Navy Combat Air Crewman Insignia, the Good Conduct medal, National Defense ribbons, and was honorably discharged in late 1957.

He married Ethel Gillingham in Missoula on Dec. 26, 1959. They had three boys: Brad, Tim and Jeff.

Conly worked as a truck driver on the ICBM project at Shelby in 1962. Later, the family moved to Missoula where he operated Lee Brothers Trucking with his brother Mike Lee. In the early 70s, Conly and his family moved to the Seattle area. He moved back to the Libby area in about 2000. He married Marlys Ramseur on Aug. 3, 2010, at Troy.

He was pre-deceased by his parents; his brother, Gary Lee; his aunt and uncle Roy and Marge Higgins of Troy; and his niece Kerry (Thomson) Henrickson.  

Conly’s wife Marlys survives in Troy. He is also survived by sons Brad, Tim (Jude), and Jeff (Shannon) Lee, all of Washington; in addition he has numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Mike (Judy) Lee of Libby, and sisters Mary Lee of Washington, Janet (Bob) Thomson of Great Falls, and sister in law Betty Lee of Ferndale and Arizona.Marlys’ children Steve (Carolyn) Ramseur, Leslie (Peter) Stemberg, and Rick Ramseur; and her grandchildren also survive him.

He has been cremated. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Troy Community Baptist Church, followed by military honors and burial.