Lee Allen Spann, passed away on October 16, 2010, after a brave struggle with cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Idella; and daughter, Molly Gaines; son-in-law, Jason; and grandchildren, Ryder and Lola, of Minneapolis, Minn. He is also survived by daughter, Carrie Ballas; and son-in-law, Alex, of Boulder, Colo.

Lee was a long time music educator in Council Bluffs, teaching vocal music for 32 years at Abraham Lincoln High School and 10 years at St. Albert Junior/Senior High. Lee also directed church choirs in both Council Bluffs and Omaha for over 40 years. Lee's passion for hunting, fishing, and Husker football was well known to friends and family. As a lifelong teacher, Lee touched many lives. He led by example and embodied kindness, generosity, patience, hard work, and integrity. He was involved in many community and educational activities including Southwest Iowa Men's Chorus and Evening Musical. He was currently serving as president of the Friends of Library Board. He also had served as past president of the Council Bluffs Arts Council, the Senior Center, and the Council Bluffs Educational Association. He was honored in 2007 with the Heritage Award for Service to Education.

A memorial service will be held in Lee's honor at First Presbyterian Church, 216 South 34th Street, in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 10 a.m. Memorials may be made to either the Bluffs Arts Council, the Council Bluffs Public Library, The Abraham Lincoln Fine Arts Scholarship, the St. Albert Music Department, American Cancer Society, or the First Presbyterian Church Music Department.

Published in The Daily Nonpareil on 10/20/2010
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Longtime St. Albert educator Spann dies
By Tim Johnson, Staff Writer

“He was a wonderful man,” St. Albert Junior-Senior High School Principal Jonna Andersen said. “It was a huge loss for all of us, and we’re going to miss him terribly.”

Lee Spann, vocal instructor at St. Albert Junior-Senior High School, enriched the lives of students in the Council Bluffs-Omaha area for more than 45 years before losing his battle with cancer Saturday. The school held a special prayer service Monday morning to mourn the loss.

He taught at Abraham Lincoln High School for 30 years, Lewis Central High School for six months and St. Albert for almost 10 years after spending the first five years of his career in Omaha.

“He built our choir and our program up – and it happened the first year,” Andersen said. “The program went from 10 or 12 kids up to about 80 students in concert choir, and he had quite a few in the junior high choir.”

“He had a love for people – period,” said Carter Leeka, instrumental music instructor at St. Albert, who taught with Spann for almost 10 years.

Spann was in and out this fall as he struggled with the disease, Leeka said.

“He had good days, and he had days that were not so good,” he said.

“He was an inspiration,” Leeka said. “He was a true gentleman. He was always gracious. You always learned from him – every time you talked to him. He was a great music teacher, he was a great musician, he was a great friend, he was a great teacher – not just music teacher but teacher about life.

“Even with all the things he did and had done over the years, he would come in and sit down and say, ‘I always learn something in your class,’” he said. “As a colleague, he was always lifting you up and helping you feel good about yourself.”

“He’s one of the first people I met in Council Bluffs, and he was kind of a mentor,” said Gary Fiscus, part-time vocal instructor at Iowa Western Community College. “He took me under his wing. He gave me some pointers I’ll never forget. I’m going to miss him so much.

“He taught me persistence with passion,” he said. “As so many have said on his condolences page, we’ve lost a great gift to Council Bluffs.”

After he retired from Council Bluffs Community Schools in 2000, Spann filled in while Fiscus, then vocal instructor at Lewis Central, fought his own battle with cancer. The following year, he began to work part-time at St. Albert.

“His passion was life,” Fiscus said. “He loved music, he loved life, and he loved kids. He wanted to conduct the fall concert. He didn’t want to be sick, because he didn’t want to let the kids down.”

St. Albert was also working on a production of “Guys and Dolls,” Fiscus said.

“He loved musicals,” he said.

John Gibson, now drama instructor at Omaha’s Central High, worked with Spann at Abraham Lincoln for two years and continued to do choreography for Spann’s swing choirs, musicals and church performances for 28 years, he said.

“It was great fun,” Gibson said. “He would sort of let me do my thing and then, if I went too far, he’d say, ‘Now, John.’”

Gibson described Spann as “very dedicated, very concerned with the education of his students … He was a man that could not say ‘no.’”

A graduate of Springview, Neb., Spann attended Wichita State University, double-majoring in choir and band education. He returned to the area and spent five years teaching in Omaha before moving to Abraham Lincoln.

Spann had served on the Bluffs Arts Council Board for eight years, including two as president, said Laural Ronk, executive director. He had been on the Bluffs Arts Foundation for five years.

“He was still on both of our boards,” she said.

“He was very active in the Festival of Trees and the Art in Education Committee, she said.

Spann had been in charge of tree delivery since the event was started seven years ago, she said. He was chairman of the Behold the Beauty Church Art, Music and Architecture Committee for two years. He also served on the Iowa West Foundation Public Art Committee and the Nominating and By-Laws committees.

“He was very passionate about all of the arts and very serious about being part of the Bluffs Arts Council and its mission,” Ronk said. “He was a board member who really kept in touch with what was going on. He was a detail guy, he was a fun guy, he was very conscientious.

“He was a good friend to me and just really involved with the community in a lot of different ways and just really wanted to bring the arts to the community,” she said. “He was just really a terrific guy.”

Spann served as president of the Bluffs Arts Council Board, president of the Council Bluffs Education Association, Phi Delta Kappa and other organizations. He was honored with the 2007 Heritage Award for Education and an Abraham Lincoln Teacher of the Year Award.