Germaine Lillian Kraunelis

Germaine "Gerry Lee" Lillian Kraunelis, 84, of 23 Linlew Dr, #24, Derry, NH died January 1, 2008 at Pleasant Valley Nursing Center, in Derry from cancer. She was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on Jan. 16th, 1923 to Virginia and Henry Hamel. Born into a musical family, and a professional country singer herself, she was known professionally as "Gerry Lee". Gerry was of French-Canadian/Native American descent, the youngest of 17 children. She was greatly influenced by her musical upbringing and by the age of fifteen, in the late 1930's, she was performing at various musical events. Gerry and her group traveled around the Northeast circuit playing barn dances and school auditoriums, as well as doing the radio shows that were common in the wee hours of the morning. They also made several 78 rpm recordings in New York in the mid-1940's. Gerry retired from performing in 1948 to raise her son Roger, himself now a bluegrass musician and singer. In her later years her activities mostly centered around the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall congregation in Londonderry NH. She is survived by her son Roger Demers of Glastonbury CT and her grandson, Jonathan David Demers, and her two granddaughters, Jennifer and Melissa Demers. She was preceded in death in 1992 by her beloved husband Benjamin Kraunelis. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, January 19th at 1:30PM at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall, 10 Kendall Pond Road, Londonderry.