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London/Paris photo book from deanna

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Photo Book - All About Dad

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Photo Book - Sept 2012 - March 2013 Adventures

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The Tribute I Gave to My Dad at His Celebration

MY TRIBUTE TO MY DAD:

Those of you have known me since I was a little girl, know how rare and special my connection is to my dad and how much I looked up to my dad.  I had a lot of one-on-one time with my dad…maybe because Geoff and I are over six years apart.  I remember he would come home from work and he had barely put down his briefcase before I asked him to take me out.  He would often take me to the local drug store and we would hang out at the magazine/book section OR he would take me out for ice cream at Big Scoop.  There was not much spoken except for the odd joke, but we simply enjoyed hanging out together.  He was an example to me on how we should live and treat people.  Here are some:

1.       BE NON-JUDGEMENTAL and TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME:  He always told me to understand the other person’s P.O.V or life history, if they were hurtful, there must be a reason why that person did what they did.  Dad never judged anyone.  I would try to set him up to say anything bad about anyone.  But nope, he never said one bad thing about a single person.

2.       BE GENEROUS:  We all know about his generosity.  Many people are generous but rarely do you find someone so generous that it actually cost that person something.   When he did pro bono work, the disbursement fees still came out of his own pocket.  We would get paid with blueberries, tofu, a drum set and so many other things.   My dad didn’t just give what he had excess of, he gave everything he had.  Geoff would often tell me that if it weren’t for mom, we would be lining up at the food bank.  Growing up, Mom, dad, Geoff and I would be out for dinner and my dad would see one person at another table that he knew (he may not have known the other people) and he would pay their bill.   Another example was when I was fundraising; I would be the top seller because my dad bought all my boxes of Entertainment Books and then he would give them away to his friends or clients.

3.       BE KIND TO THE POOR:  Dad was compassionate to the poor & needy street people.  And it goes back to him telling me to understand where that person came from.  They didn’t just end up on the street.  Dad used to organize his wallet a certain way.  He had his secret stash of cash.  And then cash that was more easily accessible so that he could give it to someone in need.

4.       BE A SOFTIE:  My dad never yelled or raised his voice to me.  NEVER.  I was his “sugar”.  When my mom would spank me and send me to my room, I would call dad at work crying (I always had direct access), “Mommy spanked me!”  “Why, sugar?”  “I don’t know.  She just did.”  Then I would hang up.  Seconds later, the phone would ring, and after mom picked up the phone, I secretly listened to Dad get after mom for spanking me.  This would happen a couple more times until mom figured it out, then she’d say after spanking me, “Now, don’t  call your dad!”  But I still called!

5.       DON’T LET YOUR HANDICAP HINDER YOU:  It never crossed my mind that my dad was handicap.  He still taught me how to tie my shoes, how to ride a bike, how to make the washing machine overflow, how to take things apart but not know how to put things back together, how to throw & catch a baseball with the same hand (making me not so competent in that sport).

6.       MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH OR SMILE:  Dad was a jokester no doubt.  Whoopie cushions, goofy glasses, magic tricks, gag gifts, one-liners, jokes (some not so clean) were plenty in our house especially when we had Uncle Robert & Auntie Leslie Kent, or Norman Wong or Walt Lim around.  Quite a few times during my acne teenage years, he would sing, “The First Time Ever I saw your Face.  Ahhhhhhh”.  Being self-conscious about my complexion, I didn’t like that but that was my dad for ever joking around.  We laughed A LOT with dad.

 These are just some of the lessons my dad taught me, and which I am still learning. 

One thing that I had wished…that my kids, Jaclyn & Madison, knew my dad in his heyday…in the last couple of years, dad had been quiet and less engaged…but somehow my kids still sensed his goodness, his playful spirit, and most of all, that he loved them and they loved him back.

My dad loved ME so well, so unconditionally.  How blessed am I to experience a love like that in my lifetime.  No person has ever loved me more or better than my dad.  No one.  And I miss him soooooooo much.  But Heaven now has a treasure that makes it an even more special place.

Dad's Celebration of Life on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7EsHe9BfVw

A Life Well-Lived

Jack Lee passed away peacefully on April 2, 2013 at the age of 82.  He will always be alive in the happy memories of his loving family: wife Mamie; son Geoffrey; daughter Deanna (Michael Woo); grandchildren, Jaclyn & Madison; brothers Bob (Lily) & Bill (Mirian), sisters Maye Louie & Mary (Normie Kwong), sister-in-law Rhoda; nieces & nephews.  Predeceased by brother George, sister Vera (George Wong), brother-in-law Willis Louie. Jack Lee was born on February 19, 1931 in Vancouver, BC to Ron Bick Lee & King Choon Chan.   He and his six siblings grew up in the Vancouver Chinatown area, and then in Shaughnessy.  Jack attended Model School and King Edward High School.  He graduated from the University of British Columbia with degrees in Commerce (1955) and Law (1962).   His law practice thrived in Chinatown, focusing mostly on real estate law, until he retired in 2008. Jack married Mamie Mah from Edmonton, AB on August 26, 1959.  They celebrated 54 years together, have two children, Geoffrey and Deanna .  Through the years, Jack and Mamie loved to entertain, and welcomed their large extended family and many friends & acquaintances to their home. Jack enjoyed many years of leadership, community service and volunteer work, a lifestyle modelled by his centenarian father. He was involved with many organizations in the Chinese Community such as the Vancouver Chinatown Lions Club, the Lee's Association, the Chinese Benevolent Association, the Toisan Benevolent Society, the Chinese Social Development Society and the Vancouver Chinese Public School.  He was also very active in all levels of Canadian politics. Jack was a recipient of the Silver Medallion Award from the Canadian government for outstanding community service, and was an active member of the Lions Club for many years. He was named a Melvin Jones Fellow in 2002 which is the highest form of recognition conferred by the Lions Club International Foundation.  Jack was appointed to the B.C. Police Commission in 1995 and also by the B.C. government to serve on the Board of Directors at Mount St. Joseph Hospital in Vancouver.  Dad was not about achievements, accomplishments or recognition.  He simply served and gave to the community because of his compassion and love for all people.  Dad treated everyone well, and the same, and he never took credit for anything.  He stood firm in his principles, never compromising on what he thought was right. Dad was a gifted public speaker and was the Master of Ceremony at many functions such as weddings, memorials, fundraisers and beauty pageants.  His quick wit, clever one-liners, love of a great joke and sense of humour made him the life of the party.  People would often find him behind a video camera capturing special events or just ordinary moments.   After spending days editing, he would give the videotapes to his friends. Dad was always thoughtful and unconditionally generous to family, friends and strangers alike - especially to children.  He had a tender heart for kids and would go out of his way to make trips to the local store so that he would have sweet treats and toys on hand for them.  Dad was also quite the artist; he loved to draw caricatures of his family. Dad loved documentaries about wildlife animals, the two World Wars, and the Golden Era of Hollywood.  He enjoyed watching Dean Martin, The Honeymooners and All In The Family.  He tapped his toes to Big Band music, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and such.  Dad had a sweet tooth too, especially for anything chocolate. In Dad’s retirement years, he went for daily walks (often involuntarily) with Alex Louie and brother, Bill.  Saturday morning coffee with the gang at Burger King was always a highlight of the week for him.  He attended a weekly Bible study, where he eventually became receptive to the truths of the Bible.   His biggest smiles were reserved for his grandchildren, Jaclyn and Madison – daughters of Deanna and his son-in-law, Dr. Michael Woo, who visited often.  Jaclyn and Madison were “Gung Gung’s” pride and joy! Dad will always live in our hearts, and in the fun and happy memories of his loving family, friends and community. He leaves us with a tremendous legacy of living life fully and sacrificially helping others.

My Dad and My Delay in Writing About Him

I have not written in this blog in months.  It seems like the last few entries have been about close family members that have passed on - Auntie Vera, Uncle George and Uncle Willis.  So I now associate my blog with death notices.

Well, I have another one to add.  My DAD.  And unlike the other entries where I expressed my emotions immediately "to pen"...I have waited for over 2 months to talk about my dad.  To include him in this blog is another confirmation that he is gone.

My dad passed away on the sunny day of Tuesday, April 2nd at 2:05pm in his wheelchair, in his room at South Granville Park Lodge.,

Dad was not alone.  He was with his dedicated caregiver, Jimmy Zhao.  Apparently, they had been watching Blackbeard's Ghost on TV.  Dad was clear-minded enough to comment that "that guy is bad".  Then Dad looked up to the corner of the ceiling and said, "What's that?" and then in a twinkling of an eye, .his heart stopped and he left.

During that time, I was at home at the computer working on this and that, even got in a few phone calls.  The last call was with Roddy.  I had even told him that Dad was getting better, "a new baseline".  I had received a call on my cell but didn't answer it.  After I got off the call with Roddy around 3:20pm, I retrieved my message.  It was from cousin Randy.  His message was a message of condolences!  WHAT?!  I called him back.  It was a stressful call as you can imagine.  I then called Michael at work, and I could tell by his voice that he knew and I forced him to tell me.  Then he said, "Your dad passed away."  I screamed and I screamed loud and I screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Then I called Geoff who acted calmly on the phone.  I told him I knew and that I was upset that I had to find out from Randy's message and 90 minutes after Dad died.  What's with that?

When Michael got home, we packed, then picked up the girls at Bethany's.  They asked many times as to why we were leaving for Vancouver but we didn't tell them until we made a food stop at the Costco in Burlington.

For the next two weeks after that, we were busy preparing for Dad's Celebration of Life.  Geoff and I just naturally fell into what our strengths are.  I was to organize the church service, gather the family of workers, and all the little details that go into planning (program, speakers, flowers, songs, white envelopes, obituary, etc).  Geoff was to organize the reception, coordinate details of the funeral home and cemetery.  I said it was like planning a big wedding except we only have a week to put it together.

Jaclyn and Madison were great.  That first weekend, Michael strongly encouraged me to go back home for a couple of days.  I was upset but relented.  And in hindsight, it was a good idea.  The girls, all of us, were able to decompress.  And we had fun laughing at episodes of "I Love Lucy".

This is all I will share for now.  I will also post the obit I wrote and include the YouTube link of Dad's wonderful service.

Celebration of Life

Uncle Willis' celebration of life was just that...a celebration.  The whole day and going into the next was a wonderful tribute to him. 
The morning started off at West Van United - a packed church - with the Lee/Louie clans taking half of it.  Brian, Scott and Stephen, and Uncle Bill, were amazing speakers. 
The burial was at Capilano Cemetery with only extended family. 

Then the reception at Westin Bayshore with jazz music, and oodles of food.  Prime rib, sushi, pasta, dessert, and good coffee.  The whole event felt like Uncle Willis.  He had his hand in the planning, that is for sure. 

The next day, Brad chartered a fishing boat in honour of Uncle Willis.  Uncle Willis had started the annual Pender Harbour Trips when we were kids.  It was those trips that drew us, cousins, closer together.  A 20lb spring salmon was caught by Alexander.  And everyone gave credit to Uncle Willis (and the good Lord) for that catch as no other boat around caught a fish. 

I was on the non-fishing boat with Geoff, Leslie, Derek, Letti, Jaclyn, Madison and little Jessica.  Our honorary family member, Alan Gelfand, joined us (it was his boat that we were on).  The weather was gorgeous and it couldn't have been a better day. 

Then we ate that 20-pounder at Foo's.  There must have been 50 Lee's taking over that restaurant.

All in all, the weekend was about family.  Uncle Willis was all about family.  I feel so incredibly blessed to be part of famiLEE. 

Shared photo book from deanna

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Uncle Willis RIP Aug 23, 2012

A couple of blog entries ago, there's a picture of me with Uncle Willis & Auntie Maye at Crofton Manor in April.  On that visit, I shared with him the Phil 4:6-7 verse, which says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Then Uncle Willis exclaimed in his typical enthusiasm, "CLAIM IT".

To which I said to him, "Ah, but Uncle Willis, do you know what the 4 words are BEFORE that verse?  It is "THE LORD IS NEAR."

So I told Uncle Willis, that we should start that popular verse with "THE LORD IS NEAR...Do not be anxious."  By saying that the Lord is near, takes us out of the equation.  It's not our action of not to be anxious.  We are not to be anxious BECAUSE the Lord is near. 

Uncle Willis said, "I learned from you today."

I wasn't able to see Uncle Willis again after that, but every time I called, he would tell me that he loved me.  I think he made sure to tell everyone that he loved them because he knew that THE LORD IS NEAR.


I shed many tears for my enthusiastic and loving uncle today.  But he is no longer suffering from stag 4 lung cancer, and for that I am glad.  But I sure feel an emptiness in my heart for him.


Uncle Willis was the only uncle on the Lee side that took me out for a whole day adventure.  I don't know how old I was, maybe 13.  We went to Fort Langley.  I also remember we stopped at a White Spot drive thru and had a blueberry pie.   He sure made me feel special...just me and him...out for a whole day.

Uncle Willis was the one that arranged for me to go to 24th Ave. Gospel Chapel since it would be too far for me to go to his church in West Van.  He arranged for a lady to pick me up that first Sunday, and she & her family continued to take me to church for many years after that.  


When I got engaged, Uncle Willis took me out for dinner to Hon's Wonton House on Robson.  He gave me his stamp of approval for Michael.  He said he liked Michael because he doesn't strut his feathers around like a peacock.

At my wedding reception, I specifically left instructions for the caterer to make a fresh pot of coffee (not hotel coffee but real quality coffee) just for Uncle Willis.  I think the catering manager personally delivered that pot of coffee to Uncle Willis directly.  I didn't want him to rate "the coffee a D.  D for dishwater."


I am chuckling now about an incident in NYC when we were there for Scott & Cindy's wedding.  Something about buying orange juice at a corner store as it was cheaper than paying hotel prices.  Then Auntie Maye saying, "You better go get that orange juice if you know what is good for you."  All of a sudden, there was a whole group us heading to that corner store to buy groceries.  An asian invasion in that little store!


These are just some of my memories with Uncle Willis.

4 Words That Defeat Worry | Keith Ferrin | That You May Know Ministries

4 Words That Defeat Worry | Keith Ferrin | That You May Know Ministries

My special visit with Uncle Willis