Mamie Lee

It is with great sadness and sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Mother, Mamie Lee, Formerly Mamie Guy, nee Mamie Chow, born in Cumberland BC, Canada on Dec 3, 1919, to Dere She Chow (Mother) and Chow Fun Gar (Father), who passed away peacefully at 5.46 am on Sunday Aug 20, 2017, in Singapore. Beloved by all who knew her as a woman of great compassion, generosity and warmth, Mamie grew up in a busy family who lived together above the family General Store in Cumberland, on Vancouver Island. Her siblings were Winning, Archie (May), Hazel (Jimmy), Tommy, Park (Linda), Bill (Lily), Wayne (Yvonne), Jack (Jean). A natural beauty, Mamie was the runner up of Miss Chinatown Vancouver in her teens, and according to many sources was highly sought after in her day. She was also a good student and spoke often of mentor teacher Mrs. Finch, who taught all the young students in Cumberland, which was a predominantly Chinese town based around the construction and development of the local coal mine. In 1941, she married Suey Chung Guy in Dauphin Manitoba, and had four Children - Victor (Jasna), David (Dianne), Gary (Nancy) and Marlene (Kyi Hla). The family enjoyed life in Dauphin being very involved with the small town, especially through their popular ‘Grange Cafe', which was a gathering place for everyone in the local area. After Suey’s death in 1955, Mamie remained in Dauphin until Henry Lee drove through town, test driving Chrysler cars and stopped at the Grange Cafe for a meal. Mamie and Henry married in 1958 in St. Paul’s United Church in Windsor Ontario, and the family moved there to join Henry’s daughters Cynthia (Doug) and Judy (Johnny). In Windsor, Mamie was very active working in the family business of Dragon Brand Chinese Frozen Foods, and then Oriental Commerce, a wholesale and retail trading company. She also studied Astronomy with Henry and practiced Tai Chi. The two were avid travelers and kept in good health through walking and swimming. After Henry passed away in January 2004, Mamie came to live with Marlene and Kyi Hla with their family in Hong Kong and then Singapore. She enjoyed playing games, notably Chinese Checkers and Mah Jong, and always had a word search puzzle book in her hand, and all who met had great respect and affection for her. She was part of all the activities enjoyed in the busy Han household and would sit in her favourite spot and hold court over the proceedings, laughing and enjoying every moment of the gathering. To know her was to love her and the best thing that we can say about her passing is, let us not mourn her death, but rather, celebrate the extraordinary life that she led, a life full of fulfillment, happiness and contentment knowing that she was the best Mother she possibly could be, the best person and the best friend anyone could ever have. Mamie was truly a beautiful person inside and out, and never wanting to be a burden, her presence was understated, but she will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved her.