Karen Lee, a 35-year career

One of Oconee County’s longest serving employees is retirement-bound.  Karen Lee’s official retirement day as Associate Probate Judge is Wednesday, June 30.  But today she’s greeting many of her friends and co-workers at a drop-in at the county government office complex.  Lee started her career in the 1980s working in the Probate Court which, then, was office in what today is the old county courthouse on S. Church Street.  In 35 years, there have been many changes.  Most notable might be the fact that Oconee has rid itself as a county marriage mill, to which many betrothed out of state couples flocked because the requirements to marry were less than that which were in place in their home counties.  But, yet, the office of Oconee Probate Judge is still a place to apply for a marriage license and, at times, where someone such as Probate Judge Kenny Johnson or Associate Judge Karen would marry you.  In her time, Lee worked for three probate judges:  J-W Ballenger, Sandra Burgess Orr, and Kenny Johns.