Yvonne Lee's Life Story
A luminous journey from Hong Kong to America, filled with music, resilience, and boundless love
🌟 Born in Hong Kong
Yvonne Lee was born in Hong Kong, the second oldest of five siblings. Even as a child, she showed remarkable creativity - keeping silk worms as pets and creating origami apartment buildings for them. Her early years were filled with music, singing with her cousin Charlene Li.
🇺🇸 Journey to America
At just 15, Yvonne bravely left Hong Kong for the United States to pursue her education. She lived with her cousin's family in Syracuse, New York, while attending Pebble Hill High School, where she excelled academically and showcased her piano talents at Syracuse University's "China Night" variety show.
🎹 Musical Excellence
Yvonne initially majored in music, taking piano lessons with utmost seriousness and mastering advanced pieces by Chopin and Schumann. Her musical talents were extraordinary, but her intellectual curiosity led her to also pursue studies in the sciences, showing her remarkable versatility.
👶 Devoted Motherhood
Yvonne married and became a devoted mother to four children: Katherine, Karen, Michael, and David. She taught them phonics and arithmetic before preschool, ensured they learned numbers in English while teaching them Cantonese, and made homemade baby food with the same dedication she brought to everything in life.
💼 Professional Success
Yvonne's career journey took her from programming for biostatisticians to working for the VA, and finally to becoming a highly successful real estate agent. She chose real estate to create retirement income and developed her own unique approach using research and personalized newsletters rather than traditional networking.
💕 Surrounded by Love
In her final months, Yvonne was surrounded by the immense love of her four children, who took turns caring for her with devotion. They drove her to appointments, managed her care, and filled her days with her favorite music - Chopin and Josh Groban. She passed peacefully in May 2025, wrapped in what her sister called "an impenetrable aura of love."
💝Yvonne as a Mother
Yvonne's dedication as a mother was extraordinary and ahead of her time. Even before her children Katherine, Karen, Michael, and David were old enough for preschool, she taught them phonics and simple arithmetic. Understanding the importance of multilingual education, she taught them Cantonese while ensuring they learned numbers in English for their academic success - a forward-thinking approach that gave them the best of both worlds.
She made homemade baby food, puréeing vegetables and freezing them in ice cube trays for convenience. During restaurant visits, she would point to letters on her shirt and ask her children to identify them, turning every moment into a learning opportunity. Her children remember how she allowed them to guide major family decisions, showing her deep respect for their growing independence.
🎹Yvonne the Musician
Music was one of Yvonne's greatest passions and talents. She was an accomplished pianist who took her lessons "the most seriously" among her siblings, mastering advanced pieces by Chopin and Schumann with remarkable skill. She even majored in music at university and performed at Syracuse University's "China Night" variety show, playing "Buffalo Boy" to great acclaim.
Her love for music extended beyond classical piano to include Josh Groban's blend of pop and classical music. During her final months, her children would play her favorite music - Chopin and Josh Groban - during car rides to bring her comfort and joy. Music remained a source of connection and peace throughout her entire life.
🍜Yvonne the Cook
Yvonne was a fantastic cook who found immense joy in feeding others and "taking command of the kitchen" during family visits. She was renowned for making massive quantities of "zong" - glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves - that would stock family freezers for months or even years. Her Christmas cookies, especially the reindeer-shaped ones, became beloved family traditions.
Her generosity knew no bounds - she once drove eight hours from Maryland to Boston with her entire family to cook and freeze dozens of meals for her heavily pregnant sister-in-law. She even invented a "spicy flu chaser" soup recipe that included homemade chicken stock, ginger, lemon juice, and garlic, believing in food's power to heal.
🌟A Legacy of Resilience
Yvonne's life was a testament to resilience, independence, and continuous learning. From her brave journey from Hong Kong to America at age 15, through her career transitions from music to programming to real estate, she demonstrated remarkable adaptability. She was fiercely independent, driven by survival instinct, yet endlessly generous and kind to others.
In her final days, the love she had given throughout her life was returned tenfold. Her four children surrounded her with such devotion and care that her sister described her as being "wrapped in an impenetrable aura of love." Her legacy lives on in the values she instilled, the skills she mastered, and the countless lives she touched with her fierce independence and boundless love.