Dr. Martin Manting Lee

As the only child of Tuck and Sin-Yee, Martin and his parents immigrated to North America when he was nine-years-old. They established their family home in San Francisco, California, USA in 1964.

Martin graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco in 1973 and received his Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Biophysics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1977.

He would then enroll in a Master of Science degree program in Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario. Though he wound up not obtaining his degree there, he did end up meeting his future wife, Grace Yeung, at the Western Chinese Christian Fellowship and married her on December 22, 1981.

Martin and Grace relocated to Palm Springs, California as Martin found work as a research technician at the Sansum Medical Clinic in Santa Barbara and then eventually as a safety director at the Hal Wallis Research Centre at the Eisenhower Medical Centre in Rancho Mirage. Martin and Grace welcomed their only son, Jeremy, in 1986.

A couple years later, Martin moved his young family to Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he completed his Master of Science and PhD programs in Respiratory Sciences at the University of Calgary.

Martin landed three different post-doctoral training opportunities following his PhD at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB), Stanford University (Stanford, CA) and Harvard University (Cambridge, MA).

However, Martin made a career change in 2007 and enrolled at the New England College of Optometry (Boston, MA) to obtain his Doctor of Optometry degree and proceeded to move back to Calgary in order to be closer to his family.

In Calgary, Martin worked primarily at the Health Plus Family Vision and Care from 2007-2020, occasionally providing optometry services to seniors at the Three Hills Optometry Clinic as well.

In his free time, Martin invested his remaining hours with his family, friends and church community. He loved playing one-on-one basketball with Jeremy, enjoyed the odd salsa dancing night (a hobby he took up while living in Boston), lacing up the skates on the outdoor rink at Saint Andrew’s Heights, taking table tennis lessons with Grace or participating in multiple 5k runs around the city.

Family trips were important to him as well, as he always looked forward to new adventures in new places with his grandchildren. Some of his favourite family vacations included: Hawai’i, Germany, Victoria, Disneyland, Boston, New York and London.

Above all, Martin was faithful to his God and was a devoted member of the church community. He served in many capacities within the church and most recently enjoyed watching his wife sing in the choir and praying with his grandchildren.

Martin is survived by his wife, Grace; his son Jeremy and wife Jessa; two grandchildren McKenna and Joshua.

Donations in memoriam of Martin Lee can be made to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.