Lee H. Cossitt, born Minnie Lee Hankins, age 98, passed away May 28, 2015. She was born November. 17, 1916 in Paris, Texas to parents Effie Mae and Rufus Leslie Hankins. She grew up on a farm with her three sisters, Martha, Myrle and Mary, and one brother Jack Thomas.

Lee attended East Texas State Teacher's College where she graduated with a B.A. in French and Spanish. She earned a M.A in Elementary Education in 1941. While there she met a young airman, James Edward Cossitt from Memphis, Tennessee. They were married in 1946 at Kerns Airforce Base in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lee taught first grade during and after the Second World War. She and James were stationed on Guam between 1946 and 1947, where James was a navigator in the Air Force. After the war, James got a job as an engineer with the Boeing Company. Lee and James moved to Wichita, Kansas where their daughter, Leslie, was born. Besides Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Guam, Lee has lived in New Orleans, LA, Cocoa Beach, FL, Everett, WA and Camano Island, WA.

James worked for Boeing on the rocket which launched the manned moon mission. The Saturn V-5 rocket was designed and built in Huntsville Alabama, shipped down the Mississippi to New Orleans and then to Cape Kennedy (then Cape Canaveral) in Florida. James, Lee and Leslie all witnessed the launch of the Apollo mission from their Cocoa Beach apartment balcony.

After James retired, they moved to Camano Island and built a Pan-Abode prefab log cabin home. Lee and James lived in a small trailer for over a year while building the home.

James died of a heart attack in April 1991 and Lee continued to live on Camano Island until the age of 89 when she moved to Merrill Gardens Assisted Living in Stanwood, WA. In 2011 she moved to the Alliance Care Family Home in Shoreline, WA.

Lee enjoyed reading and was a fan of JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. She was an avid bridge player, and for many years she volunteered helping other seniors prepare their tax returns. She especially enjoyed taking care of and spending time with her grandson Brendan.

Lee's Cossitt is survived by her daughter Leslie Cossitt, son-in-law Leo R. Griffin and grandson Brendan James Griffin of Seattle, WA and her 5 nieces and nephews; Clark, Craig and Cory Collins and Jennilee and Cindy Randle.

She will be buried at the Camano Lutheran Cemetery beside her beloved husband James. A memorial celebration will be arranged at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Group Health Foundation - https://www1.ghc.org/html/public/foundation or a charity of your choice.