Janet N. Lee

Janet Norman Lee, age 69, died peacefully on May 10, 2011, at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Hamilton after a long illness.

Born on Jan. 24, 1942, in Cut Bank, Mont., to Weldon B. Lee and Lorraine Ferguson Lee, Janet was a bright, beautiful child with a tinkling laugh and a love of horses and her dog, Duppy. She was third in the line of six girls. While growing up in Cut Bank, she was a member of the Order of Rainbow for Girls, rising to serve as Worthy Advisor. Her favorite sport was riding her horse, "Dude"; she loved her horse and walked miles to care for him each day. She graduated at the top of her class at Cut Bank High School and attended the University of Montana, where she met and married George M. "Sonny" Gratzer, who following his graduation from U of M served as an officer in the U.S. Army in Viet Nam, where he suffered severe war injuries. The couple subsequently resided in Missoula, where they raised four children, and after the birth of their fourth child, Janet returned to the University, majoring in accounting. The marriage lasted 18 years. She later remarried and enjoyed 10 years on a ranch raising horses, her goat, and her blue heeler dogs before ending that marriage.

Janet worked as a 911 dispatcher for many years and was affectionately known as the "skunk lady" by Missoula law enforcement, as her tinkling laughter would filter through the radio when she sent the officers on calls regarding skunks. One of her favorite memories was getting into her car after work to find a black garbage bag with a dead skunk in it (actually just a big rock) as a practical joke by the officers. She later worked as a Highway Patrol dispatcher as a supervisor before the start of her long-term illness.

Janet was preceded in death by her father, her nearly 103-year-old grandmother Edna Ferguson, and her granddaughter Rachel Lynn Millhouse.

She is survived by her children Kurt Gratzer and Dana Millhouse of Missoula, Michael Gratzer of Florida, and Rachel Spirlin of Helena; her mother Lorraine Lee Runyan of House, NM; her sisters Patricia (Jerry) Moyers of Alabama, Rozanne (Duane) Dowell of Missouri, Jennifer (Mike) La Sorte of Texas, Lisa Lee of Nevada, and Teri (Scott) Scotton of Iowa; her grandchildren Sean, Kyle, Katherine, Mariah, and Ryan Millhouse, Trey Spirlin, and JD Strange; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Cremation will take place, followed by a small family memorial service.