Marjorie Lee

Marjorie Lee was known as a woman of great grace, beauty, and charm. A highly sociable woman, she was easy to talk to and always ready to smile and enjoy life. She was a blossom among us, and shall be missed by many.

Marjorie Lee was born on April 23, 1943 in Fuzhou, China, and was dotingly loved and raised by her mother Wen-Chen C. Liu and father Yu-Shaun Liu. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the National University of Taiwan and first began her career in the field of accounting. Later, as the corporate world started adopting the use of software in their operations, Marjorie completed a corporate program in computer programming. From there-on until her retirement at age 65, Marjorie developed and supported software for statistical accounting applications.

In addition to being a career woman, Marjorie was also a loving wife and devoted mother. She met her husband, Charles M. Lee, during their college years. After their marriage and a big move to the United States, the birth of their three children followed over the years. First came daughter Carol while they lived in Texas, then son Joseph was born in Michigan, and finally daughter Helen was born in New Jersey.

Family, and keeping family together, was of utmost importance to Marjorie. Weekends and holidays found the entire family busy cooking together in the kitchen, making dumplings and rolling out scallion cakes. Or laughing and teasing one another while raking leaves, shoveling snow, or unloading the groceries. Her easy laughter and light-hearted playfulness transformed even the most mundane chores into wonderful memories of being together as a family. If her young children fought, she was quick to remind them that family is everything and as such should be respected above all else. She was the steady force that kept peace, harmony and happiness in the family.

As is true of all Mothers, Marjorie’s greatest life-long hobby was caring for and worrying over the well-being of her children. But she had many other interests and talents as well. She was accomplished at ballroom and latin dance, and she also enjoyed singing, knitting, painting and drawing. She had a great talent for getting along with people, making them feel happy and at ease. She loved attending parties and events with friends, and with her great beauty and charm she was the perfect companion at any gathering.

Although she was always ready to share other people’s happiness , Marjorie was actually a highly private person. It is for this reason that many friends may not be familiar with one of her greatest strengths -- that Marjorie was a woman of exceptional endurance and perseverance. Unexpectedly widowed at the age of 46, Marjorie had to work very hard in life to support her three children through college while also caring for her own aging mother. As could be expected, there were moments when she was scared, uncertain of what would happen, and simply exhausted. Yet she never burdened others with her worries and obligations. Her strength came from her sense of duty. She was driven to provide her children and elders the best life she could offer, always putting them first. Life challenged Marjorie, and she rose above it. These qualities may not have been obvious to those who first meet Marjorie – her being so gentle and soft in manner. Yet those of us who knew her well recognize she had within her great strength and endurance -- a quality that we appreciate and admire with no bounds.

After seeing her children through their college educations, Marjorie continued to live and work in New Jersey, caring for her own elder mother until she passed on. Upon reaching retirement, she moved to Northern California to live near her two daughters. Here, she enjoyed a brief time before succumbing to cancer. She died peacefully in her own home, with her children by her side.

She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her devoted and loving family.

For the many who have expressed a wish to send a memorial, and the family cherishes the gesture in any form you wish.

Flowers, cards, and tokens of remembrance may be sent to the Cedar Lawn Memorial. Please schedule flower deliveries no later than February 26th.

Charitable donations can be made to the organization of your choice. The family would like to encourage you to consider the following organizations, relevant to Marjorie's personal struggle.

• American Cancer Society, Fremont Chinese Unit: Memorial gifts in memory of Marjorie I Lee designated to American Cancer Society CA Chinese Unit are accepted by mail at: 39235 Liberty St., #D-0, Fremont, CA 94538. This is a tax-deductible donation. For donations in excess of $25, the ACS will send a receipt with the ACS's tax ID number, to the address listed on the donor's check.

• American Cancer Society (General): The ACS accepts tax-deductible Memorial Gift donations online. A Memorial Gift in memory of Marjorie I Lee designated to Cancer Research would be appropriate. Donate online at: https://www.cancer.org/CancerOrg/Involved/Donate/DonateOnlineNow/index

• Stanford University Asian Liver Center: Stanford's ALC runs local and global initiatives in outreach, education, advocacy and research related to Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer. Donate online at: http://liver.stanford.edu/ALC/donations.html#form or donate by mail using this downloadable form: http://liver.stanford.edu/ALC/ALC_Donation_Form_Online.pdf

• The American Liver Foundation: Promotes education, provides assistance, and works to find cures and better treatments for all diseases of the liver. Online donations are accepted. A Memorial Gift in memory of Marjorie I Lee would be appropriate. Donate online at: http://www.liverfoundation.org/howtohelp/donate/ or donate by mail using this downloadable form: http://www.liverfoundation.org/downloads/alf_download_214.pdf

• Volunteer Contributions: Hepatitis B is a preventable illness that disproportionately affects Asian and Pacific Islanders. We encourage you to get involved in local initiatives that foster education and advocacy around the awareness and treatment of Hepatitis B.