Priestess Brenda Slater Lee

Priestess Reverend Brenda Willis Slater-Lee's Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at Union Church, Macon, GA at 12:00PM. The Reverend David Stanley and Father Bernard Rosser will be officiating. A visitation will be held on Friday, August 11, 2017 from 12:00PM-5:00P at Hart's Mortuary at Cherry Street. Mrs. Lee was born July 1, 1950, to the late Willie M. Willis and Mrs. Agnes Willis of Savannah, Georgia. After her mother married James B. Slater, she moved with her siblings to Macon, Georgia. She attended Unionville Elementary School where Mrs. Rosetta Smith, her music teacher, discovered she could sing. Brenda sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the school's graduation. Upon their arrival to Macon, her parents' neighbor, Mrs. Malinda Styles, invited them to Beulah Missionary Baptist Church where the late Reverend Benjamin Johnson was the pastor upon their arrival to Macon; however, the foundation for Brenda's spiritual walk with GOD began at the age of six approximately. The next stop on her journey led her to Ballard-Hudson Senior High School. At the age of fifteen, she was hired at the Bibb Instructional Material Center with the aid of Mr. H. W. Mallory and Mr. R. Malone. In 1966, Brenda was welcomed to the Communion Table by Reverend David Grant of Steward Chapel AME Church (Macon, Georgia). She graduated from Ballard-Hudson in 1968 and entered Macon Junior College. After graduation, Brenda moved to Los Altos, California to live with her older sister, Lilliejo. California granted Blacks and other minorities job opportunities to excel during this era. She continued her education attending Foothill College (Associate Degree-Art) and California State University of Fullerton (Bachelor of Arts-Music). She loved to learn and her span of continued education exceeded forty years. Brenda received a scholarship in journalism and her passion for writing extended throughout her life as a contributor to the Georgia Informer and Savannah Herald despite her life's twists and turns. Brenda became the first Georgian to enter a work-study program at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in Stanford, California where she would later meet the love of her life, Mr. Hills Lee. He moved to Seattle, Washington and after a brief long distance courtship, he asked Brenda to marry him. On July 27, 1974, the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony took place at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church (Macon, Georgia) with Father Michael Delae officiating the first ecumenical ceremony. She was given the Holy Eucharist during the ceremony that was witnessed by all who were present. The couple returned to Seattle to establish their first home until they were given an opportunity to take an assignment in Tripoli, North Africa. Due to the cultural restrictions for women, she moved to Rome, Italy where she was blessed to pursue her operatic career. During this time, Brenda studied at The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music and performed as a soloist at The Church of Santa Susanna for six years. She also performed concerts for Dante and other cultural societies. The highlight of her singing career was performing for Pope John Paul II at The Church of Santa Susanna and being the first American woman to sing inside the Vatican. During a Maundy Thursday Mass in Rome, she was also one of three women who had their feet washed. Mr. and Mrs. Lee established residence in Fullerton, California upon their return to the United States. On June 22, 1988, they became the proud parents of Hillicia Lee. At this time, Brenda became a full-time housewife, and a mother to many including those in her daughter's troop. She was inspired to become a foster mother after being approached by a social worker in a shopping mall in Fullerton. Because Brenda was unorthodox in many areas of her life, controversy often found her. In Brenda's lifetime, she made three visitations to Heaven. On August 14, 2000, she passed a polygraph given by Keystone Intelligence Network of Philadelphia supporting this claim. She was called into the priesthood by the Holy Spirit at St. Julian Catholic Church (Fullerton, California). Her pursuit for knowledge of the Bible led her to several schools of theology, but she was denied admission; however, the rejection did not stop her. She sought the teachings of many ministers, priests, monks and rabbis. The late Rabbi Haim and Mrs. Elaine Asa of the Blessed Memories (Fullerton, California) were friends and supporters of Priestess Lee and all her endeavors. Brenda gave to children and senior citizens unselfishly in every community she lived including A-1 Nursing Home, Sunny Crest Nursing Home (Fullerton, California), Manor Care Nursing Home (Denver, Colorado), Heritage Nursing Home (Macon, Georgia) and a phone ministry with elderly residents. She led and participated in ecumenical services at several churches including but not limited to Steward Chapel AME Church, St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, St. Mary's Catholic Church, St. Juliana Catholic Church, First Baptist Church (Macon, Georgia), The Church of Santa Susanna, St. Paul's Within the Wall Episcopal Church (Rome, Italy), First Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia), The Steeple Presbyterian Church (Dundee, Scotland), Annunciation Byzantine Church (Anaheim, California), The Crystal Cathedral (Garden Grove, California) and Shalom Messianic Synagogue (Savannah, Georgia). She could be found reading the Bible daily. When she returned to Macon, she invited her father, mother and twin sister to take part in the Holy Eucharist and Bible study. She was the first woman to be a member of the Fullerton Ministerial Association; the first Roman Catholic Priestess; the first woman to process into a Roman Catholic Church fully-robed; and the first woman to process into the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. The transition to her new journey occurred Sunday, July 30, 2017, at the home of her twin sister, Betty. Brenda was preceded in death by her fathers, Willie M. Willis and James B. Slater; sister, Lilliejo M. Portwood; and brothers, James Slater, and Charles Slater. The surviving relatives find comfort in knowing Brenda is resting, waiting their arrival; awaiting the sound of "the trumpet"; and the reading of their names from "The Book of Life." She leaves to cherish her legacy and memories: a husband of 43 years, Hills Lee; daughter, Hillicia Peachey (Jesse) of Denver, Colorado; mother, Agnes Slater of Macon, Georgia; six siblings, Betty Willis Slater of Macon, Georgia, Annette King of Long Beach, California, Victor Slater (Kim) of Inglewood, California, Eugenia Brown of Summerville, South Carolina, and Marilyn Spearman of Leesburg, Georgia, and Willie Christopher Willis of Savannah, Georgia; seven brothers and sisters-in-law, David Lee (Julie) of Santa Clara, California, Lora Chin(Leo), June Fong (Nathaniel), Frank Lee (Aster), Moon Quan (Wesley) all of San Francisco, California, William (Dorothy), Patricia Gee (Harry) both of Madera, California, Dora Ung (Russell) of Monterey Park, California, Ginny Lowe of Loveland, Colorado and Barbara and Ben Samples of Roswell, Georgia; 27 nieces and nephews; 11 great-nieces and nephews; and special cousins, Reverend Bernard Rosser (Mary) of Smyrna, Georgia and Jamard Brown (Glenda) of Silver Springs, Maryland.

Visitation will be held on Friday, August 11, 2017 from 12:00PM-5:00PM at Hart's Cherry Street.