Lucille Louie Gee

March 9, 1926 – April 29, 2017

Aunt Lucille went to heaven on April 29, 2017. She was born in Chicago, IL on March 9, 1926. She is missed by her two sons: Kent and Robert; daughter‐in‐law, Pauline; granddaughter, Amelia; sisters Annette Chow; Ruth (husband Eugene) Kung; Jeanette Chun; Sue (husband Les) Kotval; brother, Milton Louie; sister-in-law’s Jane Gee, Delores Louie, Elaine Louie; brother‐in‐law Gordon Gee, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased in death by her husband Wallace, her son Paul, and brothers Bernard Louie, Leonard Louie, and Harry Louie.

She was always interested in learning so it’s no surprise that she graduated as a member of the National Honor Society from Englewood High School, Chicago, IL.

In 1947, she married Wallace Gee, who moved to Houston to join his brothers Albert and Gordon in business.

Her heart belonged to her granddaughter, Amelia. Since Amelia was a toddler, the weekly Saturday online chats became the highlights of the week for Aunt Lucille who was so happy to finally have a girl to dote over.

Everyone should be lucky enough to have an “Aunt” Lucille in their lives. She guided many girls and women to keenly appreciate all that life offers. She had a special connection with her many nieces and want‐to‐be nieces that spanned generations.

She introduced shopping and fashion to a generation of girls who always thought Aunt Lucille was the best dressed of all our mother’s family and friends. We wanted to go shopping with Aunt Lucille for those special occasions because of her good taste. The love of shoes and purses among these girls and women can be traced back easily to trips with Aunt Lucille to Sakowitz, Joske's and sometimes even Neiman Marcus.

“Strong” and “brave” are words that described her life. Widowed at only 57, she confidently took on the role of matriarch and was very active in the Chinese‐American community. She was active in the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.), charter member of the Chinese Baptist Church, board member of Gee Family Association and member of the Southwest Chinese Church.

Aunt Lucille used her persuasive nature to sell ads for the C.A.C.A. Miss Chinatown Pageant program. People couldn’t say “no” to Aunt Lucille. Chinese restaurants were her specialty because she was the unofficial “food critic” of Chinatown. They all knew her as Mrs. Gee and, if they were smart, learned her favorite dishes right away. You see, everyone called Aunt Lucille to get her restaurant recommendations.

Aunt Lucille was modern among her contemporaries. She stayed up to date on all things in the kitchen – food processing, health, juicing, fashion; entertaining and education.

Since many of her lady friends did not drive, Aunt Lucille was the unofficial Uber service for errands to the store, doctor and, of course, for lunch. She was part of a social gathering that rotated monthly to various restaurants for delicious food tasting and conversation.

Another favorite pastime was Ballroom dancing with a special group of friends. It was a perfect way to combine fashion, footwear and fun.

She was a multi‐tasker. She believed in staying healthy by walking most days at her favorite Galleria shopping mall. Even her son Kent initially found it sometimes difficult to match her pace.

You always knew where Aunt Lucille stood on all things. She was not one to sugarcoat her opinion. People appreciated and respected her no‐nonsense approach to life.

Her kindness was unequaled for her family and friends. She had a way of remembering everyone’s favorite food. And often, next time she appeared so did your favorite baked char sui bao.

She appreciated any kindness that was shown her. She really didn’t want a lot of fuss in her regard. She never wanted to inconvenience others. Yet, she loved to help people and would go out of the way to take a friend grocery shopping.

Her wise words combined with her no‐nonsense wit will be missed.

A celebration of life memorial service will be held in honor of Lucille Gee on Saturday, June 17th at the Chinese Baptist Church; 900 Brogden Rd, Houston, TX 77024, at 1:00pm, and the family will welcome guests at noon.