VINTON:  Robert Nelson Lee, age 89, of Hockley, TX, died Sunday, September 7, 2008 at the Navasota Nursing & Rehab in Navasota, TX following an extended illness.
     Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM, Thursday, September 11, 2008 at Phillips Funeral Home Chapel, 212 E. 6th St, in Vinton with Rev. Mark Leckband officiating.  Interment will be held at Maplewood Cemetery in Vinton .  Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 AM until service time on Thursday.  A Memorial Fund has been established.
     Robert was born April 26, 1919 at Willow Springs, MO to Robert Nelson and Mary Leetha (Ladd) Lee.   He served his nation in the US Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II. 
     On June 30, 1966 he married Abby L. Zahn at Independence.  Robert was employed at Iowa Manufacturing, Inc. in Cedar Rapids prior to his retirement in 1983.
     He is survived by his wife, Abby of Hockley, TX; his sons, Fred (Jody) Lee of Citrus Heights, CA, George (Cheryl) Thacker of Garrison, and Roy Thacker of Des Moines; his daughter, Sandy (Ron) Radcliffe of Hockley, TX; his grandchildren, Greg (Christina) Lee, Caleb (Kim) Thacker, Tony Radcliffe, Mathew Thacker, and David, Thacker, Trish (Scott) Smith, and Aubrey Thacker; great grandchildren, Arryana, Ian, Savannah, and Jackson Lee and Drew Smith; his brothers, Dale (Lois Jean) Lee of Benton, KS, and Everett (Norma) Lee of Independence, MO; and his sister, Nellie (Delbert) Richards of Houston, MO.
     He was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter, Wilma; seven brothers and five sisters.