Lee Fearing passed away peacefully at his home here on earth on Saturday, September 14, 2024. He was 72 years old.

A memorial service will take place in his honor on Saturday, September 21, 2024, at 11:00 AM at the American Lutheran Church in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will take place later that day at the Zion/ Little Elk Cemetery in Rural Browerville.

In Lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to : American Lutheran Church of Long Prairie, MN, Lutheran Island Camp, Pregnancy and Life Resources of Long Prairie or Watch Word Ministry.

Lee Ardell Fearing was born on March 10, 1952, to Ardell and Dorothy (Evans) Fearing in Aitkin, Minnesota. He was the first of four children. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he served his country in Korea during the Vietnam War. When he was honorably discharged, Lee returned to his childhood hometown and started working for Long Prairie Oil. It was there, while helping a young lady pump fuel, that he met his future wife, Debra Guse. Lee then had to gain her father’s approval but was allowed to take Deb on a date and to eventually ask for her hand in marriage. On September 2, 1978, the couple was wed at Trinity Lutheran Church (Long Prairie). Their union was blessed with two sons, Aaron and Ethan, who they mainly raised in Long Prairie.

For most of his professional career, Lee was a truck driver. The family moved to New Mexico for 18 months, but returned to Minnesota when his work required him to be on the road and away from home. Lee was then a trucker for Central Bi Products until he retired, but his favorite driving job was grandkid transportation! He considered himself blessed to have been given thirteen years to fight cancer, because it was during that time that he and Deb welcomed and got to know their grandchildren.

When Lee was a young man, he spent his free time hunting and bass fishing. As he matured, he added traveling, wood-burning, painting, cooking, reading Western books, word-finds, and playing cards to his hobbies. He was known for “Jimmy rigging” solutions to household problems. Lee had a deep appreciation for the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and the southwestern United States.
He was baptized as a young child at Clotho Methodist and confirmed as an adult at Trinity Long Prairie.  Lee’s true faith in Jesus Christ came later in life. While over-the-road driving, he started listening to Christian radio. This encouraged him, with all the time he suddenly had, to reflect on the choices he had made in his younger years. Knowing God changed Lee “for the better.”

Despite a difficult upbringing, Lee grew into a man of principle. His core convictions included loyalty, steadfastness, work ethic, and self-sacrifice. That was how Lee tried to  live. He also did his best to pass these traits onto his children, while ensuring they had a better childhood and start to adulthood than he had known. Lee held incredible pride in his family, and to have had only 46 years with Deb – the love of his life – was “not nearly enough.”

Lee passed away and was welcomed into Heaven on Saturday, September 14, 2024. He leaves behind his wife of 46 years, Debra; his children Aaron (Jamie) Fearing and Ethan (Alyssa) Fearing of Long Prairie, and Jong Han “Jony” (Issac) Sebastian of Desoto, Missouri; grandchildren Andrew, Travis (Leslie), and Kendra Sebastian, Havyn and Hardin Fearing, Everett and Eleanor Fearing; great grandchildren, Luna and Tobias Sebastian; siblings Kay Ellen Gillingham, Kim Marie (Dennis) Kuhlman, and Jan (Karin) Fearing. He is preceded in death by his parents, Ardell and Dorothy Fearing; and nephew, Evan Ardell Fearing.