Janet “Lee” Bunderson, 74, passed away on September 7, 2026, at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, Missouri.

Lee was born March 22, 1952, in Craig, Nebraska, and graduated from Craig High School. Later in adulthood, while raising her family, Lee returned to school and attended Lincoln University, beginning the education that would lead to her career as a special education teacher. She later earned a master’s degree in Special Education from Southwest Baptist University.

Lee devoted much of her life to teaching. She spent a long career in the special education department at Macks Creek R-V School District, where she cared deeply about reaching students and impressing upon them the value of an education, a lesson reflected in her own decision to pursue higher education as an adult. Her investment in her students did not always end at graduation. She maintained particularly close relationships with former students Kayla Curtis and the late Blake Hunt, both of whom she took under her wing and remained close to well beyond their school years.

Outside the classroom, Lee had an enduring curiosity about the world around her. She closely followed politics as well as the more unexplained corners of life, including a particular interest in Bigfoot. She loved family history and was proud of her Swedish heritage. At her home, she tended a memory garden and enjoyed watching the birds from her deck.

Family remained important to Lee. She especially enjoyed seeing and exchanging messages with her granddaughter Alma and took great pleasure in talking about her family’s history and the generations who came before her.

Lee is survived by her children, Jacob (Lisa) Longwell, Jessica (Jessie) Gaus, and Rachel (Dan) Weinhaus; her stepdaughter, Stephanie Sundquist; her grandchildren, Leah, Logan, Jennifer, Ty, and Alma; her brother, Eric Bunderson; her stepfather, Deryl Hamann; and her stepmother, Myra Bunderson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Kent Bunderson and Ramona Hamann; her sister, Kathy Jo Peterson; and her stepson, Todd Longwell.

In accordance with Lee’s wishes, there will be no traditional funeral service. She will be cremated and returned to Craig, Nebraska, where she will be laid to rest in the family cemetery.

Arrangements are under the direction of Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home.