Kee Chin Lee, MD

Kee was born in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, Korea on December 19, 1947. His father was the late Yung Kyoon Lee, who was Professor of Surgery and President of Seoul National University Hospital, and his mother was the late Hong Woon Chun, who was born in Eunyul-gun in what is now North Korea and was separated from her family after the partitioning of the peninsula in 1945. Kee grew up in Seoul at a time when the country was recovering from the Korean War. Because money was tight and times were hard, our father’s stories about his childhood often revolved around foods he loved but didn’t get to eat very often. He graduated from Seoul High School in 1966 and went on to earn his medical degree from Seoul National University in 1972. As a student, he enjoyed rock climbing and hiking. He gave himself the nickname “Tocraté,” which his daughters found inscribed in his dog-eared high school copy of Of Human Bondage. He went on to serve in the Korean navy as a medical officer from 1972 to 1975, earning the rank of Captain.

Wishing to follow in the footsteps of his beloved father, who was a pioneering cardiac surgeon in Korea, Kee and his young family immigrated to the United States in 1975 so he could complete residencies in General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at SUNY Buffalo between 1975 and 1983. He was a Clinical and Research Fellow in Cardiac Surgery at Buffalo General Hospital from 1983 to 1984. After a year as an attending surgeon at Lancaster (PA) General Hospital, Kee accepted the position of attending surgeon of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Charleston (WV) Area Medical Center, where he earned a reputation as a skilled and compassionate physician. In 2010, Kee was recruited to Monongalia General Hospital in Morgantown, WV, to lead the Cardiac Surgery unit, which he did until his retirement in 2015.

Kee was widely recognized as a highly gifted surgeon but his first priority was always the wellbeing and comfort of his patients. Over the course of his career, he saved hundreds if not thousands of lives, and many of his patients recommended him to family and friends. His former patients and colleagues have spoken of their love and admiration of Kee, telling us that they loved him, that he was an angel, or that he changed their lives.

As well as being a talented surgeon, Kee had a wide array of outside interests. He was an avid student of history and loved reading on topics ranging from astronomy to classical antiquity. He introduced his daughters to Anne of Green Gables, chess, and card games; he was one of the on-call physicians at the old War Memorial Auditorium and often took his older daughters, Julia and Vivien, to Buffalo Sabres’ games when he was working. He loved playing golf and although his enthusiasm for the game somewhat exceeded his skill, he nevertheless found great pleasure in playing a round or two regularly, especially with his life-long friends from college and medical school. He also enjoyed traveling with his wife and friends and was fortunate to be able to visit places like India, China, Japan, Germany, Croatia, Scotland, Spain, and Morocco. Although he lived in the United States for most of his adult life, he frequently returned to Korea in order to see his siblings and extended family.

Kee always enjoyed a close and extensive network of family and friends. He was loved by all who knew him, from his colleagues to his neighbors to the woman who drew his blood to the dog groomer. He was a doting grandfather, finding great joy in the antics of his grandchildren. He is survived by his devoted wife of 49 years, Joung Hwan Lee; his daughters Julia Lee of Irvine, CA; Vivien Lee of Columbus, OH; Amy Lee of Columbus, OH; and Sarah Lee of Boston, MA; his sons-in-law Philip Broadbent, Paul Segerstrom, and Samuel Bryar; his grandchildren Keely Segerstrom, Peyton Segerstrom, Malia Segerstrom, Eleanor Broadbent, Silas Broadbent, and Cormac Bryar; his younger brother Sang Chin Lee and sister-in-law Eun Young Choi of Seoul; his younger sisters Won Hee Lee and brother-in-law Sae Hyun Han of Seoul, Kay Lee and brother-in-law Nam Kyu Lee of Amarillo, and Sook Hee Lee and brother-in-law Hwae Kyung Lee of Seoul; as well as 18 first cousins. Kee was a beloved brother-in-law to Ok Whan Lee, Sung Yeol Yoo, Jang Han Lee, Gyu Whan Lee Yoon, Hyung Jin Yoon, and Duk Han Lee. He was also an uncle to 20 nieces and nephews. Kee was a loving father to Bobo, the miniature schnauzer who was a member of our family until his death at age 14 in 2019. Joung and his daughters would like to thank the many friends and family from across the United States and Korea who called and traveled to Columbus in Kee’s final days to express their love and say their goodbyes.

We give special thanks to the physicians, nurses, and staff at the Cleveland Clinic, who provided our father with extraordinary care and gave us the gift of one more year together as a family. We are particularly grateful for the fact that the transplant enabled our father to meet Cormac, his youngest grandchild, born a few months after the surgery. We honor and pray for our father’s lung transplant donor whose death made life possible for so many others.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Korean Presbyterian Church of Orlando in his memory. Donations can be made electronically at www.orlandofirst.org (click on “Donate”) or sent as a check to:

First Korean Presbyterian Church of Orlando

140 Lake Rose Drive

Orlando, FL 32835

In the memo line or note section, please write “In memory of Kee Chin Lee.”

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 16 at 12:00 pm at Schoedinger’s Funeral Home Northwest, 1740 Zollinger Road, Columbus, Ohio.

In the midst of our grief, we take comfort in these lines from the Book of John: “And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.”

To watch the memorial service for Kee Lee, click here: https://webcasts.lifetributes.com/1219994