J. Lee Sears lived by the old saw: If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. If life hands you more lemons, open a franchise.

Mr. Sears had more than his share of lemons.

He contracted polio when he was a junior in high school and lost the use of both arms. But he had tremendous drive, supporting his family by dealing in real estate and auctions.

He died Dec. 14 of a heart attack. He was 79.

Mr. Sears was born June 3, 1929, in Brighton to Oliver and Pearl Carlile Sears.

His given name was James, but he went by J. Lee.

He went to school in Brighton until 1941, when his family moved to a farm near Fort Lupton. He graduated from Keenesburg High School in 1947.

Mr. Sears went to Reisch Auction School in Mason City, Iowa, and later was hired on with Ehrlich Sales Service in Brighton as an auctioneer. He studied real estate at the University of Colorado at Boulder and joined Whiteside Realty in Fort Lupton in 1951.

He later formed JL Sears and Associates, developing and selling real estate. He ran the business until he retired in 1992.

In the early '50s, he reconnected with childhood friend LaVeda Smith in a doctor's office. She was a teacher.

"I'd known him all my life," she said. "Our parents were good friends."

She had a sinus infection, so they were in the waiting room and began chatting. He asked her out.

They started dating and married Aug. 29, 1954.

She cared for him throughout the years, helping him button his shirt. The task became more difficult for her in later years because Sears got post-polio syndrome, which claimed the use of his legs.

"They were good years. They were hard years," LaVeda Sears said of her long marriage. "Financially, he did real well, but it was hard. I had to dress him."

Mr. Sears had a wonderful sense of humor, which kept him and his family going.

"The day he died, he was still joking with nurses and doctors," LaVeda said. "He had an oxygen mask over his face. He was still joking."

After retiring, the Sears family lived in Estes Park and then moved to Greeley.

Mr. Sears was active in the communities he lived in.

He was a sports fan and booster of the Fort Lupton Blue Devils. He was a member of the Fort Lupton Lions Club and First Baptist Church.

In Greeley, he served on the Colorado State University Extension Service's Agri-bility board. He was also involved with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

Mr. Sears and his wife traveled extensively around the nation with their children and later just the two of them. They visited all 50 states and a few countries.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Sears is survived by a daughter, Kay Collins, of Brighton; two sons, Mark of Fort Collins and Jay of Houston; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271