Alta Lee Keith

Alta Lee Keith passed away on May 30, 2023 after living a full and rewarding life. Alta Lee was born in Arlington, Massachusetts on April 21, 1932 to Leroy and Alta Sapp, whom she was named after. She grew up in Waltham, MA with her one and only sibling and dear sister, RoxAnn Haynes of Englewood, CO.

While at Waltham High School, she won the title of Mid-Century Queen and held other beauty pageant titles in the Boston area. Alta Lee went on to Lesley College in Cambridge and studied Elementary Education (her future lifetime career). She met her future husband, Donald E Keith, when he returned to Newton, MA from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951. They married in 1953 at York Beach, Maine. Her marriage to Don spanned “almost” seven decades. Don passed away on May 31, 2019 at 91 years of age, with Alta Lee passing almost exactly four years later to the day.

Together Don and Alta built a home in Stow, MA where they raised their four children. They were devoted parents to Jeffrey Keith and his wife Mary of Mashpee, MA, Scott Keith and his partner Jennifer Wilson of Auburn, CA, Shellee Keith Day and her husband Steve of Highlands Ranch, CO, and Jennifer Keith Traylor and her husband Tim, who also reside in Highlands Ranch.

Alta Lee was proud to have eight grandchildren and had close relationships with all: Camlyn Ross, Brittany Lopes, Brandon Keith, Ashlee Tenney, Alycia York, Alexandra Kirk, Brooke Traylor and Abbey Hume. She was also blessed with thirteen great-grandchildren: Kalia and Makena Ross, Junior and Neiden Lopes, Madison, Landon and Ava Keith, Preston, Luke and Hayden Tenney, Cameron and Callan York, and Rylee Kirk. The ‘greats’ made up in the boy category!

Family was everything to Alta. From the 1960s through the 1980s, she and her four children would spend summers on Cape Cod in West Dennis, MA and was joined by her sister, RoxAnn Haynes, her husband Fred Haynes, and their four children: Kymberlee Castillo, Kraig Haynes, Kurt Haynes, and Kamlyn Haynes-Parse. These special and unforgettable Cape Cod memories were some of Alta Lee’s most cherished!

Hockey was the family’s #1 passion. Alta loved following the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche and would watch games with great enthusiasm even at 91 years old! She was a devoted Boston Red Sox fan and would even follow professional football rooting for the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Bucs and Denver Broncos after moving to Colorado in July 2019. For her, it was about the comradery and celebrations!

Alta Lee taught at Pompositticut Elementary in Stow, MA for many years until moving to Clearwater, FL in 1984. There she continued to teach K-3rd Grade Special Education at Skycrest Elementary until 2003. She then stayed on there as a ‘special sub’ until she was 79 years old. She loved the children and made lasting relationships with co-workers.

Alta Lee had an amazing circle of friends in Florida where she resided for 36 years. The eternal social butterfly, she was always the life of the party and never wanted to miss one! Her timeless and beautiful script handwriting came in handy with her passion for sending cards and remembering everyone’s birthdays! With the invention of Facebook, she found joy in keeping up with what everyone was up to and her comments became notorious and priceless!

We can’t think of Alta Lee without smiling. She spread joy, loved unconditionally, and she always wore a beautiful, big smile (along with those sparkling blue eyes!) that would brighten anyone’s day. The family takes great comfort in the fact that Alta Lee is in heaven, continuing to spread happiness, warmth, and laughter for eternity.