Fee Ha Hong

Fee Ha Hong of San Francisco was born on February 14, 1920 in Canton, China. She was married to Fong (John) Wee Hong who passed on July 15, 1969, after which she became a single mother to her daughter.

Before immigrating to the United States in 1947, Fee was often forced to flee to the village mountainside during the bombings of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). After her arrival in San Francisco, Fee worked as a seamstress at her husband’s dry cleaning business, and later worked in the Food Services Department at the Chinatown Holiday Inn before retiring in 1985.

Fee was a generous and compassionate soul: she cared for the sick, sponsored the immigration of her mother, her siblings and their families to the United States, helped raise her grandchildren, distributed lucky money to relatives at social events and to all those who visited her, and provided financial support, food, and comfort to family and friends. She was selfless, always putting the welfare of others before her own and rarely asking for help.

She enjoyed sewing, the Chinese newspaper, Chinese opera, movies, parties, and visits from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but most of all, she enjoyed cooking and entertaining. Relatives always looked forward to her regular Sunday dinners where she would cook dim sum and traditional holiday dishes. She even prepared lunch for the construction workers who remodeled her property!

Fee was very independent and strong-willed, resolute in insisting upon living alone, despite offers to live with her son. After her knee replacement surgery, which improved her mobility, she became a frequent user of public transportation, shopping and running errands on her own.

In her 70s, she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized and became a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Chinese Church. At age 91, Fee passed away on July 27, 2011 due to cardiac arrest. Her longevity has made her a very senior and distinguished member of the Gee Family Association.

She is survived by her three siblings: Kai Wee Yee (Robert), Tu Lun Tsang (Diana), and Fong Hung Fong; three children: William (Barbara), Daniel (Ruth), and Doris (Peter); seven grandchildren: Christina, Michael, Bryan, Rachael, Michelle, Cassandra, and Cynthia; and four great-grandchildren: Emily, Mikayla, Mia, and Bryli.