Lesley Paulsen, 74, of Des Moines, Iowa, passed away at Iowa Methodist Medical Center on January 6, 2021 due to COVID-19 related complications.
She was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Lloyd H. C. Paulsen and Marjory A. Paulsen (Willett). She is survived by her siblings, Gail, Alan, and Ian; her daughters, Alison and Courtney; and her grandchildren, Dominick, Andreas, and John.
Lesley received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and her master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. After a varied career that included many years at the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston) and the University of St. Thomas (Houston), she retired and returned to her birth state of Iowa after many decades in Texas.
Throughout her life, she was unfailingly kind and generous. Lesley enjoyed a good read (mysteries were a favorite), strong coffee, and spending time with her grandchildren. Travel was also a passion — in addition to visiting friends and family members in various parts of the US, she had also been to Mexico, Germany, Denmark, England, Scotland, the UAE, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.