Wallace Tin-Wah Lee

Wallace Tin-Wah Lee (李天華) passed away in Del Mar, California on March 16, 2022 at the age of 85. Born in Guangzhou (Canton), China on November 3, 1936, Wallace (Wally) lived an extraordinary life. As a child, he survived, with his mother, father, and sisters, the Japanese occupations of China and Hong Kong during World War II, which caused his family to flee several locations and endure separation from each other. After resettling in Guangzhou upon the war’s end, his family fled to Hong Kong to escape Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Wally became an orphan while still a teenager, and after attending flight maintenance school (Far East Flying Training School) and working at Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon, Hong Kong, he emigrated to the United States in 1961 seeking a better life and a university education. After attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for less than a year, he had a chance encounter in Union Station (Los Angeles) with a young woman, Virginia Iu (饒文鳳), who just days before had arrived by ocean liner from Hong Kong and was headed to New York for graduate school. Wally helped Virginia and a friend with their luggage onto the train, and the rest is history. While chatting during the long train journey, they discovered that they had concurrently lived in the same apartment building in Hong Kong, as well as a number of other synchronicities. After corresponding with each other via letters for a number of months, Wally moved to New York to join Virginia. They married in 1964, and remained devoted to each other for over 55 years until Virginia’s passing in December 2020.

Wally graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now the New York University Tandon School of Engineering) with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 1966, and embarked on a long and distinguished career as an aerospace engineer focusing on spacecraft dynamics. He and Virginia eventually settled in Southern California. He worked for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell, TRW, and finished his career at the Aerospace Corporation, retiring in 2003. He was especially proud of his work on the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project, the first international manned space mission, and the Space Shuttle. In addition to progressing in his career and raising four children, he also found the time to earn a Master’s degree at the University of Southern California.

Wally and Virginia built a close-knit family whose members cherish their memories of Wally as a loving and supportive husband, father and grandfather. Wally is survived by daughter Althea Lee, son-in-law David Parker and granddaughter Natalie Parker of Amsterdam, Netherlands; son Bernard Lee of Mountain View, CA; daughter Celia Lee and son-in-law Clarke Holland of San Francisco, CA; and daughter Darlene Lee of Costa Mesa, CA. He also leaves behind his sister Shirley Go of Atlanta, GA and numerous nieces and nephews.

Wally greatly enjoyed travel, classical music and opera, and ballroom dancing with Virginia. They attended many dances with ballroom dancing clubs, and wowed audiences with their rendition of the tango. His children vividly recall being roused on weekends during their teenage years by the sound of classical music or opera played at top volume. He also appreciated other genres of music, and was known to spontaneously break into dance. He also enjoyed golf, walks on the beach, and most recently, yoga, as a way to stay active. Wally’s thirst for knowledge and education never ceased. At the time of his passing, he was immersed in two books, and was learning French and German. His family and friends enjoyed his wry and sometimes silly sense of humor, which shared equal billing with his engineer’s practicality. He was patient and loving with all his family members, and was particularly proud of his granddaughter Natalie. One of the hallmarks of his life was his adoration for Virginia, whom he steadfastly cared for during her long illness. In his later years, he never hesitated to tell his children of his pride and love for them. He doted on his granddogs Buddy, Tara, Truman, and King. Wally was happiest when surrounded by his beloved family, enjoying a good meal and a glass of Pinot Noir, his favorite varietal.

Wally was an avid listener/viewer of public television and radio. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to KPBS of San Diego. Please visit www.kpbs.org/tribute. The donation form has a comments field; please enter "Wallace T. Lee of Del Mar".