Lee was my best friend for 30 years. We first met when she was an admissions counselor at the School for International Training. So many memories, so many laughs. My heart goes out to her family and all her many friends. May she Rest In Peace.

Beautiful Lee thank you for the many years of friendship we had. There are few people who have impressed my heart at much you. I know you are at peace. I will never forget you.

Rachna

We are so very sorry to learn if her passing. She was a lovely person , so kind and gentle. Deepest condolences to Anja and the family ❤️

I met Lee when we worked at Landmark College. She was so memorable for her grounded presence and kind advice. I yearned for her poise. Mostly we just talked in passing, but every encounter left me feeling hopeful and positive. Lee was so generous with her attention. I’d ask you to save me a seat in Heaven but I just know I’ll have to fight a crowd of your groupies

Lee is a one of my favorite friends. Years ago she came to Thailand at that time Thai people had demonstrated the government, when she went back to Putney, she bought me a T-shirt says “One of the millions “ and I would saw her almost every Sunday at the Putney Farmers Market.

After I moved to Thailand, Lee is one of my best friends whom I miss so much.

RIP my dear friend, Lee

I am very sad knowing that Lee is no longer anong us. As the WIP admission counselor, she supported me from the very start in what turned out being a life-changing experience. She was there at midnight, waiting for me at the Brattleboro bus station, when I arrived from Amaterdam. She was there to support me and all the other students throughout out time in Brattleboro. Lee was an unforgettable presence in my life during the years I studied in Vermont I am really honored to have had you as a friend. Rest in peace.

Goodbye dear sweet Lee. I can hear her laughter and her voice still, although it has been decades since I have been in her company.

Lee was instrumental in recruiting me to the WIP/SIT. I was 39 years old at the time and attempting to finish a Bachelors degree. It was Lee’s encouragement and confidence in me that was a major impetus in my decision to jump in feet first and finish my degree.

Lee was a lovely bright shining star and she was loved by all who knew her. We will miss you Lee, but you are forever by our side. Thank you.

I always looked up to Lee as a friend because she embodied a presence and expression of love few of us achieve in life. I see this presence in her daughter Anja and that is a blessing. Lee was often the life of the party with a great joke, a funny memory or a compliment that made you feel recognized and deeply loved. We had great times together at Burton Island, Cross Country skiing at McConnell Pond and Full Moon Mystery. So many memories. Her smile and love are etched in my heart and I feel blessed to have known her. She truly will be missed.

Lee and I met during the years that we were both studying with Byron Katie. She attended my training programs in England and Amsterdam frequently. We met Charlotte and the three of became close friends. Charlotte and Lee became Catholic, and I followed about a year later. I have no words to express the sadness that I feel in my heart. Although I know that she is in a really good place now, and that her suffering has ended, I just miss her so much. She is one of the most loving persons I have ever met. I am so grateful that I got to share these last Catholic years with her, travelling with her to the Holy Land, and all of our shared conversations with Charlotte and us praying the Rosary together. You are so dearly missed my darling, but I will see you in heaven.

I met Lee when she was a student at SIT. She introduced me to Fort Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils and wrote a song for me. We hadn’t seen each other for quite a while, but we used to see each other at New England Youth Theater when our kids were involved in productions. When I think of Lee, I immediately see that huge welcoming smile and her bright eyes that shone so much light.

Lee was my best friend for 30 years. We first met when she was an admissions counselor at the School for International Training. So many memories, so many laughs. My heart goes out to her family and all her many friends. May she Rest In Peace.

I met Lee as a freshman in high school when she was a senior. She was always so kind to me and encouraged me to participate in the musicals.
We didn’t see each other often but when she would get back to Sycamore it was always great to see her. She was a very special human and her presence on this earth will be greatly missed.

We are desperately sad to hear of Lee’s passing, her grace and kindness will not be forgotten by any of us. We offer our deepest condolences.
Hildamarie and family

Christmas 2021, and we received in the mail Lee’s annual gift of home baked ginger cookies. A tasty treat for us oldsters. And when she came to visit, she often brought us maple syrup from her home base in Vermont. Sweets from a sweet gal.
Growing up just around the corner, Lee often joined our brood in childhood adventures. A lineup of kids with their lunches tied up in bandanas hanging from a stick across a shoulder heading down to the “wilderness” alomg the drainage ditch.
And then in her high school years there were the tall tales that Lee spun about an imaginary local character from the village of Cortland, Ersel Smith.
Lee was a wonderful ambassador for the United States as an exchange student and as a world traveler. She will be missed.

Like so many of us, Lee entered my life as the admissions counselor for the WIP program at SIT. I think we all might have been in love with her. She was charming, funny, kind, shined her light on everyone around her and was unnervingly present, always. I aspired to be like her and still do. I am grateful her suffering with illness has ended but wow am I heartsick to think she’s not here anymore. All the love and condolences to her surviving family.

💐Met with Lee in 2014 in Thailand with her and my best friend, Puangjaew (Srihatrai) Prasertphan. Learned from Puangkaew that Lee and her family is a loving of humans people.
💐With deepest condolences to members of Lee’s family and friends. May Lee pure soul Rest In Peace. 🙏
From Ron Burirat
AFS Exchange Student to Ramapo HS,NJ
Class of 1975

Lee was the most amazing human being! She never had any judgement of anyone else’s life. Pure love shone in hers eyes, her amazing smile and happy spirit!
I went to Jr High and High School with Lee. We were the 2 Lee’s! She was so social, kind and warm to all people she met. What a sweetheart! This world has lost an amazing human being! Rest In Peace dear friend and classmate! You did so many amazing things with your life. So much adventure at such a young age!
So brave in this world and brave leaving this world! May God Bless all of Lee’s friends and families!

I met Lee when I applied to SIT in 1990. We were instant friends and remained close for the past 32 years. Dear, sweet Lee. I can’t believe she’s gone. During my time in Vermont, Lee and I would get together to sing together while she played the guitar. We would laugh so much that we’d have to clear our throats. Even these many years later, we’d still laugh about it. In 2020, Joe and I met up with Lee in Putney. We sat on the rocking chairs across the street from the General Store and relived many memories. I’m so glad we got to spend that time together. What a beautiful soul.

Lee was an extra-special friend since we were in 2nd grade. (My pet name for her was Bozo, and she called me Pooh Bear.) I have so many wonderful memories of our times together. Lee touched so many lives with her warmth and loving spirit. That spirit is sure to live on. Peace and Love, Lee

My sister the Debie Kamm went thru Grade School, Jr. High, and High School in Sycamore, IL with Lee and I knew Lee thru my sister. Lee was a WONDERFUL PERSON, loving and caring, always happy. Heaven has gained a Special Angel, & The World has lost a person with such a kind and giving soul. So sorry to learn of her passing. She will be missed. I remember the last time I say her when she was home in Sycamore, alaways smiling and happy and glad to see old friends. Rest In Peace, Dear Lee.

Lee was such a helpful person to me while applying for WIP program at SIT. She helped me get a RA position and scholarship for serving in Peace Corps. Let was a peaceful presence in our lives and helped to bring calm when things got hectic. She was a beautiful soul and a lovely person.

I knew Lee from Sycamore High School. She graduated the year before me. I remember Lee as a bright spirit with a perpetual smile on her face. She was kind to everyone. I am not surprised that she led a very full and robust life. Prayers for her family! Rest in Heaven Lee!

Lee and I were childhood friends. We had a quartet Lee, myself, our friend Beverly Shrode and Dave Myers. Lee is a close friend I dearly will miss. She came to a class reunion and comments on a look she remember of me. She looked right at me and said “there you are”. Til we see each other keep your watch over us all.

💐Met with Lee in 2014 in Thailand with her and my best friend, Puangjaew (Srihatrai) Prasertphan. Learned from Puangkaew that Lee and her family is a loving of humans people.
💐With deepest condolences to members of Lee’s family and friends. May Lee pure soul Rest In Peace. 🙏
From Ron Burirat
AFS Exchange Student to Ramapo HS,NJ
Class of 1975

I got to know Lee as the mother from Anja, the daughter of my brother-in-law Antony. Lee was a very special, warm and loved person. She will be sorely missed. I wish all here loved ones a lot of strength, comfort and warmth to bear this great loss 🙏🏻

I met Lee when she attended the World Issues Program at SIT way back in the 1980s. She was the kindest, most loving and respected member of her class, which is saying a lot. The world has lost a dear soul and we are the poorer for her loss.

I worked with Lee at the Landmark College Library. She brought light and joy to all who met her, students, faculty and staff. Even after she left Landmark, whenever I ran into her on the street she always had a kind presence and her lovely smile. She will be missed. My condolences to all who loved her.

Mary Jane MacGuire

I first encountered Lee’s warm smile at the Putney Community Garden when she was healing from her heart attack and I from a sudden loss. Though I never knew Lee well, she always showered me with that luminous smile when we met in the Coop, on the road, or at HildaMarie’s, Meeting her always lifted my day- like two souls touching. What a beautiful, global citizen we have lost. My deep condolences to all she touched and those who love her still.

Lee was instrumental in getting me join SIT and helped me complete WIP. She had a big and warm heart, and went beyond her role as the admissions consular to make you feel part of SIT community (especially for an international student like me). Her memories remain…. Thanks, Lee. Rest In Peace.

Dinesh
@ Hanoi, Vietnam

Lee has been my dear dear friend since elementary school. I have so many wonderful memories of Lee : going to junior high sleepovers, participating in the AFS review, singing in Madrigals, acting in plays, and just laughing hysterically. She loved my parents and they loved her! When my parents died last year she called and we talked for hours. We cried and laughed as we shared memories of all that happened during our youth. Lee is one of the most compassionate and caring souls I have ever known. She was always more concerned about others than herself. I will miss her long phone calls and loving texts. I send my deepest sympathy to Anja, Zan, and Nardy, and the rest of Lee’s family and friends. I will miss you greatly dear Lee. ❤️

I was an student at landmark college when lee worked there.. my Condolence to the lee Family.

While we may not have spoken to each other for some time, Lee was a good friend to all in high school. She grew up and was educated in Sycamore Illinois graduating in my class of 1976. We have lost yet another one of our stars in the galaxy of life. Know that while her presence here on earth may have diminished, her light will shine brightly on us forever from above. God bless you as he takes you under his arms.

Oh Lee! My mother and I have such amazing memories with her. I can’t remember Lee without Oso. I feel so fortunate to have photos and memories of growing up with the wonderful person Lee was. She taught me so much and brought so much love to my life. We are so close to having a presence in VT. This is truly a case of I wish I had reached out more recently!

I met Lee in 2019 on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Roy Schoeman. Although I didn’t know her well she projected such an air of sweetness and joy I hoped we would continue a relationship in the future. Fortunately we became good friends over our Sunday Zoom rosary sessions and was so inspired by her ardor and love of Christ, Our Lady and the Catholic Church. As a convert she put me, a cradle Catholic, to shame. Truly she is a new saint and intercessor for us.

I came to know a very young Lee Henigan when I was an AFS student staying with the Henigan family in Sycamore – and she has been a treasured person in my life since then.

Lee had an extraordinary capacity for friendship, great emotional openness, kindness and loyalty. Lee shone with a generosity of spirit – I always felt seen by Lee, and happier after talking with her.

I’m grateful to have known Lee and will miss her enormously.

I am so sorry the Lee has left. We met when she and Peg were living in Amsterdam ar Groenburgwal. I was an SIT host. Lee was delightful. I have fond memories of the friendship. I have seen Lee after the divorce from Peg once – would have loved to stay in touch more, , but due to the distance, the unbelievable amount of friends she had and all contacts she was maintaining, as well as her Byron Katie activities – added to Lee’s dropping off the social media grid – that was not to be. Loved her soft-spokeness, her laugh, her caring about everything alive – perhaps too much sometimes. I will remember her fondly. My condolences to Anja and Peg, her family and friends.

Lee is always my beloved friend and always
close to my heart . She was my first friend from my AFS year in 1974/75. She was fun & warm to be with. Since then we’ve been connect to each other . I had a chance to be with her in Seattle, in Putney and in Thailand when she came to stay with us in 2014. We had a wonderful time together. She is one of our family. May your soul Rest In Peace and be in God’s hand with eternal happiness ❤️

I’m so sorry to hear of Lee’s passing. I worked closely with her at Landmark College. She was extraordinarily talented and always had a strong desire to help others. My condolences to her family.

I was terribly sorry to hear of Lee’s passing. At Landmark, back in the days of “Moodle,” she was always so helpful to me and always had time for me whenever I’d pop in with a technical problem or question. Lee truly was a good soul, if ever there was one. My condolences go out to Lee’s family and loved ones.
–Jim Cabral

Lee was the most gentle soul I’ve ever known. So grateful to have had her presence in my life. Love you dear Lee.
Renee Kinnaman-Choudhury
SIT-WIP XX (Class of 1993)

I met Lee after graduating from the World Issues Program in 1982. For several years I was fortunate to sing some songs, tell some jokes, and have deep enduring conversations with dear Lee. Even as I type her name a smile comes on my face. I am grateful for the joy we shared and send my love to all her family and friends. Rest In Peace my Friend.

As a new WIP student at SIT in 1993, I was lucky enough to have her accept this queer kid as her work study admission’s office program assistant. She was my boss, my counselor, and a vital support force for all my classmates. We loved her dearly. How could you not? Her love was the strongest force in any room she was in. If you were ever lucky enough to have her lovingly look you in the eyes and tell you “you’re the best”…
I am grateful to have learned from her. I am sad for her family. I am grateful her physical suffering has ended. I am jealous of heaven…
Love,
Gavin

Lee! I love you!

Met at Byron Katie’s school as students. then met up again as roommates as facilitators at the School. Spent most of our time cracking up-I wrote her a prescription to not be a rule follower (I’m a physician) that said RELAX and signed it…yea, like that works…!

Met in Chicago and took Laughter Yoga certification. Got clown noses and magic wands. Drove cross country together blabbing the whole way.

Rode the flying ride at Epcot MULTIPLE times because she loved it so much. She leaned into the breeze with her arms outstretched. She knew how to live. She taught me how to love this like she did. She was always showing me a “funner” way.

Sat for hours speaking of our spirituality in the car eating chocolate covered marshmallows. I’m having one for you now, My Lee.

Lee was my best friend for 30 years. We first met when she was an admissions counselor at the School for International Training. So many memories, so many laughs. My heart goes out to her family and all her many friends. May she Rest In Peace.

Lee was a caring and kind person.

I met Lee virtually in November 2022; she contacted me to ask if I’d like to talk with her about my sister, Beverly, who had been a childhood friend of Lee’s and who died at 14 in 1972. Our family lived in Sycamore 1960-1966 and became friends at the Methodist church (I was born in 1964), Lee and I enjoyed email correspondence and a long zoom conversation. We talked about Beverly & their friendship, our experiences & families, and – no surprise- spirituality. The timing of our interaction was remarkable, as I’d heard mention of Vegemite on the radio one day and told my husband that the only time I’d tasted that was at Marion Henigan’s kitchen table, on a visit to Sycamore in 1974 or so. That very evening I received the initial email message from Lee. That kind of experience bolsters my faith in a higher power.
My glimpse of Lee and her loving nature leaves me wanting more so I can hardly imagine the sense of loss that her family and close friends feel.
I pray that all who knew and miss Lee may know peace.

Lee lived with my family in NZ as an exchange student in 1975, where we came to know and love her mischievous sense of humor, and her wonderful acceptance of people for who they were. My Down’s syndrome sister, Christine, loved her dearly, and Lee’s acceptance and love for her was very special to me. Throughout the years she came back to my wedding, and visited my children with her daughter, Anja. I had travelled down to Sycamore when I was living in Canada, and stayed with her parents. It was wonderful to get to know Tom and Marion and see where she had grown up. We received a wonderful welcome from the family. I could see in part why Lee was the wonderful person she grew up to be.

Over these years we have been in and out of touch, but just before the pandemic she searched me out and within a few weeks I jumped on a plane and stayed with her in Putney for Thanksgiving., where everyone gave me a warm welcome. I am forever grateful for these special moments that we shared in person, reminiscing about life and family now passed from this world with whom we shared a common love and memories. During her last few weeks of life I played a couple of hymns on the piano for her (however badly) in a couple of messages – she had asked me to play for her before, as she remembered the many hours of practice I used to do in high school.

We shared a deep belief in God. She converted to Catholicism and I had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We had such wonderful discussions about the commonalities, respecting each others choices and being in full agreement about love and peace for all mankind – not just as a casual saying but a truth in action.

I miss Lee so much. She called me her dear sister. I trust that God will hold her in His hand until we meet again.

Lee was my best friend for 30 years. We first met when she was an admissions counselor at the School for International Training. So many memories, so many laughs. My heart goes out to her family and all her many friends. May she Rest In Peace.

Lee and I were AFS exchange students to New Zealand in 1975. We were only about 60 miles apart-she live in Tauranga and I live in Waikite Valley (and went to school in Rotorua). One day my host family drove to Tauranga to buy citrus fruit and we took a side trip to visit Lee and her host family. After a 2 hour visit that felt like 15 minutes, Lee and I were fast friends! We wrote each other frequently and even spent weekends with each other when possible. Of course, we got to see each other and spend a lot of time together during AFS gatherings throughout our year in New Zealand as well. It was nice to have an American friend to share everything you were going through as an exchange student. Someone you could look to for advice or share about how much you missed Pizza Hut!
I was lucky that Lee was such a great letter writer and we kept in touch through all the years. I saw her last on her trip home from the grand canyon in 2012. She called me from Salina, Kansas and asked how close she was to Topeka, my home town. I invited her to come and stay the night, since we figured she’d make it by 8:30 or 9 p.m. We had a great time of catching up. The next morning, Lee followed me to work. I work in the state Capitol and at the time, it was under renovation, but nearly done. We had breakfast together, I showed her around the Capitol and my beloved Topeka High School. Then she drove off to the east.
We talked on Facebook, until she decided to get off of that medium, then texted and still wrote occasionally, her more than me. Talked on the phone, left messages, then I sent her a text in January about my daughter auditioning to get into a master’s degree program closer to home. She sent me a message on January 15th that she was in the hospital with covid pneumonia and secondary bacterial pneumonia. And this: “doing well. Jesus with me all the way.” I should have checked back sooner. I knew with her heart that could be a big problem.

But I know she is doing much better now. She is where she should be. “Jesus with her all the way.” Love you, dear, sweet friend.