Ada Oi Lan Lee

February 18, 1931 - October 9, 2023

Ada Oi Lan Lee was born Ada Oi Lan Chee to parents George Chee and Annie Elizabeth

Kwong Chee on February 18, 1931 in Hong Kong, HK. Her father was born in Trinidad and

worked as Chief Accountant for Shell International Oil Company. Her mother was a member of

the Kwong Sue Duk family of China and Australia. She grew up in Hong Kong with her parents;

an older sister Marion and a younger brother George. She attended Chinese school starting in

kindergarten and then the British Diocesan Girls School for elementary and high school.

Ada’s immigration story is a testament to her faith, resilience and curiosity. Having been a

teenager during WWII and the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong she became wise before her

time. Her grandmother Kwong lived with her family and was a devout Buddhist. She was very

against any of her family becoming Christian. However, when she was 13 or 14 years old, Ada

began going to the Assembly of God Church and eventually worked there as a Chinese-English

interpreter for a Canadian missionary couple Dr. and Mrs. Spencer. She became fast friends

with their daughter, Dorothy. When it came time for Dorothy to go to college, the Spencers

thought Ada should go as well and helped fund her college experience. Both Ada and Dorothy

boarded a freighter ship as two of six passengers from Hong Kong to San Francisco. They

ultimately reached Vancouver, BC to attend Western Bible College when Ada was 19 years old.

The freighter took 32 days with several stops and some terrible seasick days. It was of course

the least expensive route to North America.

While in college in Canada, during the summers Ada would go to Corvallis with her friend

Dorothy to live with Dorothy‘s aunt and uncle and work at their five & dime store. During one of

those summers, a friend invited Ada to attend a Chinese Association function. This is where she

met William Wah Ying Lee (Bill). A long distance courtship took place. She was a student

attending Western Bible University in Canada and he was a student at Oregon State University.

After she received a Bachelor’s degree from Western Bible, her incredible mentor Dr. R. Griffin

from Northwest Christian College-NCC (renamed Northwest Christian University and now

Bushnell University) accepted and enrolled her in a Masters of Theology program in Eugene.

Ada later was presented with an honorary Doctorate from Northwest Christian University for her

service on its Board of Trustees and dedication to the University. With this opportunity to enroll

in her Masters program at NCC, she was able to come to the United States. In 1954 she

married William in San Francisco, and they moved to Eugene, Oregon to begin their family and

work lives together.

After settling in Eugene, Bill and Ada became the third Chinese family to establish several

Chinese restaurants in the Eugene/Springfield area. As many immigrants to the United States

experienced, it was difficult to find work in their post graduate fields of study. Ada’s education

was in theology and Bill’s was in criminology. They opened their first restaurant in Eugene

named ‘China Palace’ on 6th Ave. Their very small restaurant had only four booths and a

counter. Ada waited tables and Bill cooked. Through the anonymous gift of a customer that

appreciated their work ethic and diligence, they were able to pay off the cost of this first

restaurant and begin to grow their restaurant and real estate business. They opened their next

restaurant, ‘Ming’s Restaurant’, in 1959 on Willamette street and later the names of their other

restaurants became fixtures in Eugene and Springfield. ‘Trader Lees’, ‘England Grille’, ‘House of

Lee’, and ‘Asian Garden’ were successful, thriving restaurants. In that time Ada acquired her

real estate license to help procure the land beneath and buildings that housed many of the

restaurants they owned. The collection of these enterprises became B&A (Bill & Ada) Inc. Ada

later became a business consultant in the field of restaurant and business developments, both

small and large, with B&A International Inc. Through her affiliations with the University of

Oregon and NCC, Ada was able to provide numerous student interns with a semester of

hands-on experience in running a real estate and consulting business. Many of her interns have

remained lifelong friends. Ada and Bill were active business pioneers in the area with

restaurants, real estate, and other business interests.

Ada’s dedication to philanthropy stemmed from her deep personal commitment to Christianity

and her belief in giving back to the community that embraced her and Bill. Ada was a faithful

and valued member of the First Christian Church since 1954. She was an elder and served on

their Board of directors several times. In1998 she was awarded the “Pastor’s Chalice Award’ for

outstanding service to the church. She leaned into her faith during the most challenging time of

her life. In 1977, her beloved husband, father of their children, and business partner, died of liver

cancer, leaving her with six children aged 22 years to 18 months, and three very busy

restaurants. She found the strength and resilience to carry on and thrive through her faith, hard

work, and the incredible comfort and support of the church and the community of Eugene. The

first foray beyond the church into community organizing was with the Chinese American

Benevolent Association in Eugene, Oregon. The Asian American community has a visible

presence in Eugene, and Ada played a pivotal role in its prominence. Her desire to preserve

and share Asian culture for youth in the area went from development of the Lion Dance Club to

an Annual Asian Celebration which began with 50 attendees one day to three days with over

22,000 in attendance from all over the Pacific Northwest. The following are the numerous

organizations and institutions where Ada shared her wisdom, work ethic, and resources. In each

can be found friends and colleagues in great admiration and affection of Ada for all her positive

outlooks, joy in working with people and enthusiasm.

Served on Board of Directors for: Asian American Foundation of Oregon; Chinese Benevolent

Association; Cockerline Memorial Fund; Eugene/Springfield Asian Council/Co-founder; Eugene

Symphony Orchestra; Holt Adoption Agency; Lane Community College; New Hope Foundation

Orphanage; New Day Creation Orphanage; NCC (now Bushnell University); Sacred Heart

Hospital Foundation; University of Oregon Museum of Art. Ada further held many professional

memberships and served on numerous advisory committees, councils, commissions and

fundraising efforts for many more city, state, and even federal agencies involving the arts, civil

rights, cultural preservation, education, public safety, trade, and more.

Even more than the hard work and investments that were made, both Ada and William became

fully involved with their community. The purpose of their efforts were focused on making a

prosperous and safe place to raise their family of six children, two boys and four girls. For fun,

she loved traveling the world with friends and family, watching Chinese soap operas, reading

personal biographies and listening to Chinese, Christian and Country music. The Grand Ole

Opry was one of her all time favorite trips. Her sense of humor was infectious and spending time

with friends and family at a good meal was always rewarding. Her grandchildren have wonderful

memories of the treasured time they spent with her.

Ada leaves behind her beloved youngest daughter Jean Lee; daughters and spouses, Ali Lee,

Carol Lee and Phillip Lowell, Sharon and Douglas Scott; sons and spouses, Robert Lee,

Eugene and Audrey Lee; eight grandchildren and their significant others, Alex Lee, Candace

Lee and Norman Leong, Will Lee and Kelli Kaneta, Jade and JC Hanley, Grace and Brian

Huefner, Hannah Scott, Annie and Walker Hinshaw, and Tianna Lee; three great grandchildren,

Olivia and Lucas Hanley, and Arlo Huefner.