Jean Lee

Jean Sung Lee (née Fong), 86, Westminster, CO, died in her sleep on Thursday morning, November 29, 2018. She was born on February 17, 1932, in Sacramento, CA. Her father, Sue Wing Fong, was a grocer and her mother, Wun Fong, worked in local canneries. She graduated from San José State College with a B.A. in Elementary Education, became one of the first Asian-Americans to have a full-time, permanent position in the Sacramento School System, and then taught in San Francisco. She was married in 1955 to Edwin Lee, and in the late 1950s, she and Edwin moved to New York City to pursue careers in the graphic arts, where she also worked for Time, Inc. as an indexer. Pursuing her love of the fine arts, she completed a B.A. in Art at SUNY Purchase, where she also took a job as a graphic designer. Graphic design also defined her work at Hudson Valley Hospital Center and in a company she formed with her husband. Jean was no stranger to heroic feats. While tending the till at her father’s grocery store as an adolescent, a man tried to rob the store with a gun. Thinking fast and taking a big gamble to prevent the theft, she told the robber to help himself and promptly slammed the cash register door on his hand as he reached for the money, an event documented in the hometown Sacramento Bee. Passionate about life, she painted, was an avid reader and enjoyed discussing fiction and non-fiction with her local book club, and in her retirement years, she worked on fine art photography. Jean was an early adopter of organic gardening and fine cooking in the late 1960s, and traveled throughout the world, including several trips to Asia where she was able to explore her parents’ Guangdong village. Survived by one daughter Kim (Barry) Lee-Brown of Princeton, IL, one son-in-law, Mark Knowles, of Westminster, CO, three grandchildren, Donald (Hannah) Lee-Brown, New York, NY, Luke Lee-Brown, Spring Valley, IL, and Linnea Lee-Brown, Princeton, IL, one sister, Gee Plummer, San Francisco, CA, and one brother, Edmund Fong, Sacramento, CA. She was preceded by her parents, her husband, one daughter, Jennifer Lee Knowles, and one sister, Chun Fong. A private committal will be held at a later date. Memorials may be directed towards the JenLee Foundation through Focus International 4930 E. Texas Road Allentown, PA 18106 (https://www.gofundme.com/prosthetics-project-in-ecuador)