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.