Florence Lee Tom, longtime Houston resident, passed peacefully from this life on Monday August 10, 2016 at the age of 87. Chapel Service will be at Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 10:00 am followed by internment at the graveside for the family and those that wish to attend.
Florence entered this world on April 30, 1929 in Canton Kwong Jung, China. She is preceded in death by her parents, Paul May and Ngan Sui Yee, her brother Robert May, her husband, Lester Tom Lee and grandson Zachary Mar. Surviving her are her daughter Belinda Lee Jann, her husband Michael and their son Trevor of Fort Worth, Texas, her daughter Vannell Lee McCaslin, her husband Neal and their sons Andrew and Kyle of Katy, Texas and her stepson Dexter Mar and his wife Faye.
Florence lived in China until 1937 when she moved to Hong Kong, grew up with paternal cousins and became active at the Assembly of God Church. Asserting her independence, she becomes a Christian and learns English and the piano (a passion she recaptured recently). Her sense of adventure and bilingual skills landed her a job with the American Immigration Service, which led to her own sponsorship and solo immigration to the United States in 1956. In New York City, she worked for the Congregational Christian Service where she met and married Lester Tom Lee. The newlyweds moved to Houston, Texas where she joined the Chinese Baptist Church and raised two daughters, Belinda and Vannell. In 1979, Florence reentered the workforce with Mobil Oil and then Cabot Oil & Gas in the Land Department.
After retiring, she helped raise grandsons Andrew and Kyle until she moved from the Houston Heights to the Spring Shadows retirement community in 2003. She has met many wonderful friends and in the last five years returned to piano after a 68 year hiatus. To her astonishment, she remembered how to read the musical notes and progressed to a SMP Level 4 by practicing daily. The newspaper, crocheting and visiting with friends on the phone and in the dining room along with faithful attendance at Chinese Baptist Church filled out the rest of her schedule.
She was loved and will be missed greatly by her family, the many friends at Chinese Baptist Church, and the Spring Shadows community.
The family welcomes flowers but offers as an option that donations may be made in Florence’s name to Chinese Baptist Church.
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