Jun Sau Lee

Jun Sau Lee was born on August 19, 1924 in Guangdong, People’s Republic of China. She was the proud daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack On and Shee Hom Yee. The family had goals and incentives for Jun Sau Lee to achieve a better way of life. The foundation was for a good education. Especially during that era, women were not very well educated or encouraged to achieve higher goals. Her parents felt differently. At a very young age, Jun Sau went away to boarding schools to establish her foundation in education.

Jun Sau did well in school and discovered that she had a natural sports ability and became the captain of her basketball team. She proudly spent the first 22 years of her life in China with her family and friends. She was match made with a young gentleman who immigrated to the United States, together they felt they had a nice bond and pledged their lives together in marriage. This young man, Gilbert S. Lee, turned out to be her loving husband of 61 years. She ventured to America as a newlywed to California which began with a brief stay in Colusa, relocating and settling in Tracy. Tracy became the birthplace of her five daughters. Gilbert and Jun Sau had plans to live the American way of life to build their foundation and fortune giving their children the best possible life in America. They had a very brief stay in San Francisco, but found that Salinas would be the best area to raise their family and spent 31 wonderful loving years in Salinas. Eventually they spent the last 14 years in South San Francisco and San Bruno.

Together, hand in hand they opened up three small businesses that did well which put food on the table and gave their children the best possible lives in Salinas. She was never afraid to work hard and be proud of her capabilities.

She had a passion for cooking, sewing and gardening. She loved to prepare some of the finest home cooked meals for her family and friends. There was always a packed table for dinner and if needed, she would always open space for more to join the family. She even catered to their pet dog “Pee Wee”. His food bowl was always full. She loved to care for others in the Chinese tradition to make sure everyone had something to eat ensuring that you had a full stomach as well as to take some food home. She always cared for and watched out for others.

Some of her culinary specialties were BBQ Pork Buns, Fried Chicken, Chinese Herbal soups and especially around Chinese New Year the finest good luck and tasty treats. Her talents also included being an excellent seamstress. When the daughters were young, they had the finest new fashions prepared for them by their loving mother. Her favorite color was a vibrant purple. The cooking skills, sewing, and her love of gardening carried over into her children.

She had some great hobbies she loved to share with her family, especially Gilbert. Her favorite shows were Wrestling (WWE Friday night Smack Down), rerun episodes of Bonanza, Golden Girls, Walker Texas Ranger, Murder She Wrote, and Iron Chef America.

One winter she sewed a flannel coat for the pet parakeet, Lucky.  Unfortunately she forgot to include openings for the wings.  Lucky lost its balance and fell to the bottom of the cage and flopped around like a fish out of water.  We had a good laugh and abandoned the idea of clothing for birds.

She was preceded by her husband, Gilbert S. Lee and sister, May Han Lee.

She is proudly survived by five daughters April (Ronald) Quok and Windy Sum of South San Francisco, Ada Scott of Anchorage, AK, Nina (Jon) Stamey of Walla Walla, WA and Mamie (Tom) DeBord of Salt Lake City, UT. Grandchildren: Kristen (Siddhartha) Deb and Randall Quok, Jeffrey Ng, Helena Northstar and Amy Scott, Jessica Stamey, and Emily (Greg) Black. Brother Alan (Pauline) Yee and cousin Hector (Melissa) S. Lee.

She will be greatly missed by all. We will always remember our family gatherings and times together. You taught us to always care for others, to maintain strong family ties and how to survive………… We will always love you.