Ock-Kyung Pai Lee

Ock-Kyung Lee (née Pai), devoted wife, mother, teacher, and friend, died peacefully amongst family

on February 14, 2025 at the age of 90 in Towson, Maryland.

Ock-Kyung was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. Her father served as Chief Justice of the Supreme

Court, while her mother was a college dean and professor of home economics. From an early age,

she developed a deep love for art, literature, painting, and reading - passions she continued to

pursue at Seoul National University. However, her studies were disrupted by the Korean War,

ultimately leading her to study abroad on a full scholarship at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

There, she was introduced to her future husband through a classmate of hers. The two married and

moved to New York City where they both finished graduate degrees at Columbia University – hers in

Art History, his in Physics. They eventually settled in Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore,

where they became active members in the community, established their careers and home, and

raised five children. Summer weekends were often spent at the ocean, where the family enjoyed

blue crabs and seafood, late-night pizza, and long relaxing days at the beach.

She became an esteemed faculty member in the Art Department at Towson University, where she

taught thousands of students over the decades, most notably in her highly popular Art in the

Culture and Women in Art classes. As the curator of the acclaimed Asian Arts Center at Towson

University, she played a pivotal role in fostering appreciation for Asian art and culture within the

academic and broader community.

Even after retirement, she remained deeply engaged in the arts, curating exhibitions and

championing both local and international artists, with a particular dedication to modern Korean

artists of the diaspora. Beyond her professional pursuits, she found joy in playing golf, attending the

opera, immersing herself in PBS dramas and symphonic performances, and sharing her passion for

cooking with family and friends.

Over the years, Ock-Kyung’s house became a second home to many relatives, graduate students,

artists, children’s friends, and visitors from abroad. Her kitchen was always ready and wellstocked, brimming with treats. A firm believer in common-sense living, she often reminded her

children with a simple yet wise mantra: “Eat and sleep at the right times.” What began as a gentle

nudge toward routine—often met with eyerolls from unruly teens—eventually grew into a down-toearth philosophy for a long and healthy life.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Yung-Keun Lee. She is survived by her five

children: Ann Lee, Arnold Lee, Sara Lee, Sylvia Lee Kazan, and Clara Lee; their spouses, Grace Liao,

Mike Lawrence, Wayne Kazan, and Bill Miller; and her loving grandchildren, Leah Weaver, Sam

Weaver, Zoe Kazan and Lila Lawrence.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of her lifelong dedication to education and the arts, donations can

be made in her name to the Towson University Asian Arts Center (“Ock-Kyung Pai Lee”), where she

spent much of her career building and nurturing the program.

(https://www.towson.edu/campus/artsculture/centers/asianarts/support-center.html)

A private memorial service was held on March 15, 2025 at Lemmon Funeral Home, and she was

laid to rest at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.