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Show UTAH WOMAN'S REVIEW September 1972 DTI I IUmimam'a And wuiiiaii niir fiTniiniiin nniini r nuHun uu mhhu un wuru e1ahImi iiamhii s Kcvicw WOMAN OF THE YEAR Freda Joan Jensen Lee, the wife of President Harold B. Lee of the LDS Church, approaches her responsibilities as the wife of a General Authority and President of the Church expertly qualified by a background of service and devotion to the Gospel and to her fellow beings. "Nothing is as inspiring as the pursuit of wisdom. The experience of ever reaching out for more," she believes and demonstrates in her services to young people. The story of Freda Jensen Lee is an appealing one, beginning in Provo, Utah, where she Saint was born to Latter-da- y stalwarts Julius and Christine H. Thuesen Jensen. It is no wonder that she has attained expertness in the field of literature for children. She heard . inspiring true stories when she was a tot. She heard them from her father who had been a sea captain and who knew the geography of the world as a person knows the palm of his own hand. He was an excellent jeweler who brought his skills with him to America from the old country. Freda Jensen Lee, her devoted sister, Mrs. Gerald (Edna) Cazier, and her brother Franklin J. D. Jensen, all of Salt Lake City, learned well the lessons taught in the happy Jensen home in Provo. It was there that neighbors first saw a girl skipping along the shaded summer streets to take piano lessons from Clair Reid and later from Anthony C. Lund. Her love for music grew with every year and today she spends happy hours at the keyboard of her grand piano, a wedding gift from her husband. It was waiting for her when they returned from a trip following their marriage in the Salt Lake Temple June 17,1963. With her marriage to Elder Lee came the precious family of 10 grandchildren and Elder Lee's two daughters, Mrs Ernest (Maurine) Wilkins and Mrs. Brent (Helen) Goates and their devoted husbands. "She is Aunt Joan to these lovely children and their interest is part of her life. She talks to them about the things they know and love. Their response is a glorious thing to see," President Lee said. Mrs. Lee has worked long days and nights in the interest of youth in her assignments with the General Boards of the Primary and YWMIA and on the Sunday School board in Sandy Stake. She is past president of the State Elementary Supervisors Organization and the State Association for Childhood Education; a founder of Delta Kappa Gamma; member Phi Kappa Phi; Women's Legislative Council and Salt Lake Soroptimist Club. Page I President 11 College, which later was merged with the Idaho State University, receiving a teacher's certificate in 1 9 1 7. He became principal of an Idaho school at the age of 17, and after further study at the University of Utah, 1922-192he became a principal in the Granite School District in Salt Lake City, 1923-2He ' resigned his school position in 1928 to become Intermountain manager for the "Foundation Press, Inc." He was appointed to the Salt Lake City Commission, December 1, 1932, and won re- - election November 7, 1933. Meanwhile, as stake president, he had organized and established the 3, 8. Pioneer Harold B. Lee Freda Jensen Lee "Every person that is dear to us helps to mold our lives," Mrs. Lee said as she recalled some lives that have touched She has also been an instructor during summer sessions at the University of Nevada, University of Utah and Brigham her own. Among her family were men she knew as "Father" Young University. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree from BYUshe also has done graduate work at the University of Utah, University of California and Columbia University. Other activities include the State P. T. A. Board; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Interna- William Wilson and "Father" William D. Kuhre, who inspired her with their spirituality and leadership in the Church. "I am so grateful for all the teachers and children I met during my working years; for all my friends; for the superintendents of Jordan School District. All have added to the joy of living," Mrs. Lee said. Her profession in education led her to the important position of supervisor of primary education in the Jordan School District. The district board of education and administration extended to her a resolution of appreciation for her services when she left the field of education to become wife and homemaker. Among other complimentary expressions, Jordan district representatives wrote: "Mrs. Lee has consistently, conscien-tousl- y and untiringly dedicated herself to the execution of all of her responsibilities, assignments and obligations in a very and commendable efficient manner in which she always exercised the utmost integrity, honesty, and loyalty in all her work for the Jordan School District." Speaking of her work with children, President Lee said, "She has the key that unlocks many a child's heart. She has the ability to teach the teacher this secret. Her conversation with a child is a beautiful thing to hear. Her skill and understanding are born of a lifetime of knowledge and application of child psychology. She is constantly reaching out to the child that is not understood." tional; a YWMIA baord member of two stakes; President of the YWMIA East Jordan Stake ; a member of the General Music Committee of the IDS Church and an Honorary Golden Gleaner. One of her close friends described her as a "devoted, solicitous wife, who complements President Harold B. Lee. She is outgoing, interested in others, sympathetic to the problems of youth, humble, with a strong faith, meticulous in dress, loves her husband and home with devotion, and she is a perfectionist with a warm personality." As she counsels young people she often tells them, "Don't live for yourself. If you do you will be the loneliest person in the world. Be willing to strive to become a part of something much bigger than you are. Be willing to serve. Keep close to your Church and your God. You cannot control your life span, but you can control what goes into your living. You can give breadth, width and depth to your own life." We at Woman's Review are pleased to honor Mrs. Freda Jensen Lee, along with her outstanding husband and wish them happiness and joy always. day-to-d- ay Harold Bingham Lee became president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- - day Saints July 7, 1972, succeeding the late President Joseph Fielding Smith who died July 2, 1972 of a heart attack at the age of 95. President Lee had been a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles since April 6, 1941, and became president of that body on January 23, 1970. He had also served since the latter date as first counselor to President Smith. He was a teacher and principal in Idaho and Utah public schools before entering private business and later becoming a public official. He became prominent in Church, circles as a regional (stake) leader and welfare worker during the depression of the 1930's. In 1936, the Church combined its various relief activities into the enlarged Church- - wide Welfare Program and President Lee became managing director on January 1 , 1937, remaining 22 years in this position. He was born March 28, 1899, in Clifton, Oneida County, Idaho, a son of Samuel Marion and Louise Emetine Bingham Lee. One of six children, he grew up on the family farm. He married Fern Lucinda Tanner on November 14, 1923, in the Salt Lake Temple. She died 24, 1962. He September married Freda Joan Jensen June 17, 1963. President Lee has one living daughter: Mrs. L. Brent (Helen) Goates, Salt Lake City. Another daughter, Mrs. Ernest J. (Maurine) Wilkins died in 1966. President Lee attended the Oneida Stake Academy, 1912-191and Albion State Normal 6, Stake Bishop's Storehouse early in 1932 to care for the needy and unemployed of the Church within the stake. At the request of the Church's First Presidency he resigned from the city commission on January 1, 1937, to become managing director of the newly organized Church- - wide Welfare Program. As a youth he was active in debating, basketball, and music. After attending Albion State Normal School in Idaho, he taught in a one- - room near Weston, schoolhouse Idaho, with some 25 students and 28 classes a day. He was principal at Oxford, Idaho, when he received a call to the Western States Mission in 1920. President Lee has long been a staunch advocate and champion of youth. During 1945 he delivered a series of radio addresses that were later published as Youth and the Church. Much of his understanding of youth and their problems has come from personal experience. In 1953 Elder Marion G. Romney of the Council of the Twelve wrote a tribute to President Lee that powerfully summarizes the esteem in which he is held throughout the LDS Church: "Such is Harold B. Lee, who now stands, not at the end of his career, but on its threshold. He knows his course, is recognized for what he is, and is on his way. Behind him is a record of high attainment. Before him, 'hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise.' Sustained by the conviction that he lives in the shadow of the Almighty, he will not falter. The future must reckon with Harold B.Lee." Such is the man of destiny for today. Harold B. Lee as President of the 3 million or more members of the Church of Jesus Christ is a devoted leader, husband, spiritual counselor, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, dedicated to the service of mankind as a whole and a loving to his choice companion companion, Freda Joan Jensen. We honor them for their past achievements and for their dedication to those they serve and guide. |