From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
Dr. Benjamin Buck Lee, 99, Vero Beach
December 05, 1921 – September 12, 2021
Dr. Benjamin Buck Lee died peacefully in his sleep in Vero Beach, FL on Sunday, September 12, 2021, five days after testing positive for COVID-19. He was less than 3 months from his 100th birthday. Born near Canton, China on December 5, 1921, Dr. Lee accompanied his mother (Hom Shee Lee) at age 2 to join his father (Sing Tong Lee) in the United States. After his mother died, he was taken back to China at age 9 (with his younger brother King) to live with relatives for about seven years. It was there, living in extreme poverty and witnessing grossly inadequate medical services, that his desire to become a doctor was born. When the Japanese invaded China, Benjamin came back to Baltimore, MD at age 16 and was placed in elementary school. Through persistence, hard work, and help from a kind teacher/mentor, he worked his way into high school and then was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he became a 2nd Lieutenant and B-29 flight engineer. The GI bill helped him through Johns Hopkins University and later medical school.
Benjamin met Joan Louie, a social work student from Canada who was studying at Smith College, and they married on September 1, 1948. A few years later, they welcomed a daughter (Yvonne) and then a son (Douglas). During a time when medical schools had a restriction of one Asian American per class, Benjamin was that one Asian American at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. After graduation in 1953, he did a fellowship at Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts and then became a well-respected and often-requested anesthesiologist at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, MD until his retirement. Afterwards, Ben and Joan lived in Ocean City, MD; Vero Beach, FL; Shoreline, WA; and finally back to Vero Beach, FL in 2015. Retirement activities included ham radio, gardening, watercolor painting, and working in the Sunday School/nursery at their church. Ben and Joan also enjoyed traveling and even went on missionary trips to Nigeria and Australia.
In January 2021, Benjamin was among those who received the Congressional Gold Medal honoring all Chinese Americans who served in the U.S. military during World War II.
Benjamin is survived by his wife, Joan; daughter, Yvonne Lee Tso (James Tso); son, Douglas J. Lee (Lyn Sullivan Lee); step granddaughter, Kimberly Tso (John Pomeroy); step grandsons, Travis Sullivan (Megan Sullivan); Gavin Sullivan (Shadia Sullivan); Brandon Sullivan; Collin Sullivan (Anneliese Sullivan); and step grand daughter, Megan Sullivan. Step great grandchildren include: Kaiya Pomeroy-Tso; Jacqueline Pomeroy-Tso; Cailyn Sullivan, Brynne Sullivan; Alec Sullivan; Gibran Sullivan; Ezekiel Sullivan; Chance Sullivan; Rowan Sullivan; and Anderson Sullivan. He is also survived by siblings: third brother Wing Lee (Nitaya Lee), Lane Lee (Helen Lee), Jane Lee Marriott (Richard Marriott), Sue Lee Wong (Douglas Wong), Bai Liang Lee (Mei Shan Lee) and their families. He is survived as well by the families of his deceased brothers, King Lee (Marie Lee) and Joe Lee (Patsy Fasano), and his deceased sister, Kay Lee.
In this time of COVID, there will be a video-based Memorial Service for family and close friends. Donations can be made in memory of Benjamin B. Lee to VNA Hospice, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960, OR to ACTS Legacy Foundation, Samaritan Fund or IRE Fellowship of Hope, 2250 Indian Creek Blvd. West, Vero Beach, FL 32966.
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