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‘Quite a lady’A diminutive and energetic woman, Mrs. Lee’s face washighlighted by large horn-rimmed glasses and a thick headof dark hair.“She was quite a lady,” said former state Sen. Julian L.Lapides. “For someone who lived to be 100, she couldappreciate the tremendous strides that were made onbehalf of racial equality during her lifetime. And she wasresponsible for many of those changes.”He added: “And her many accomplishments were ininverse proportion to her size.”“I was always very impressed by Lena’s willingness tospend time with younger folks to share her experiencesso they could avoid some of the pitfalls she encounteredduring her lifetime,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge RobertM. Bell, said yesterday.“Her advice was, ‘You do things because they’re the rightthings to do, and when you’re doing the people’s business,it’s best to be a leader rather than a follower.’ And she didit fearlessly and with certainty and gusto,” he said.In 1972, Mrs. Lee proposed a bill that would haveeliminated the Maryland State Board of Censors. Foryears, it had been presided over by Mary M. Avara, aSouth Baltimore bail bondswoman, who was once called“America’s Mother Superior of Censors.”“The Censor Board is one of the political plums. ... Itis purely a political patronage thing,” Mrs. Lee told TheEvening Sun at the time.“There is no one person who has the right to say tome that ‘you should not see this picture at all.’ They havegotten in a darkroom and had a sadistic delight in seeingall the goodies of the picture for themselves and thenthey tell me I should not see it,” she said. The board waseventually abolished in 1981.Named in her honorThe House of Representatives voted in December toname a post office at 1826Pennsylvania Ave. in her honor, and Mrs. Lee attendedthe dedication ceremony in June.“She had a wonderful sense of humor. She was 99 thenand said to the crowd, ‘I turned over the reins 25 years tooearly,’” Mr. Cummings said with a laugh.Mrs. Lee had served on the City RedevelopmentCommission, the Urban Renewal and HousingCommission, the Advisory Council on Higher Educationin the State, the board of governors of the Barrett Schoolfor Girls, the Women’s Committee for Civil Rights andthe Provident Hospital board.“Up until the end of her life, she was in full possessionof her faculties and memories. Her voice was as strong as itwas during her days in Annapolis,” said Larry S. Gibson, aUniversity o f Maryland law professor.“We had a celebration at the central Pratt Libraryrecently, and she stood up without a cane and spoke for20 minutes without any notes. She was truly a remarkablewoman,” he said.Mrs. Lee was a longtime member of Sharp StreetUnited Methodist Church.At her request, there will be no services or memorials,said Louise Michaux Gonzales, a Baltimore lawyer andMrs. Lee’s property guardian.Surviving are a nephew, Dr. Ronald King of Owensboro,Ky.; and several step-grandchildren. X62