Catherine May Yee

Catherine May Yee, age 68, passed away on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Kindred Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona after many complications following open-heart surgery. Cathy was born in the Canton province of China on August 1, 1944 to parents Chee Shon and Sue Tam. She was the eldest of four children. The family immigrated first to Hong Kong and then to the United States when Cathy was 14 years old.

In her youth, Cathy was spirited, hard-working, ambitious and smart. She went to school full-time and worked nights alongside her father in a restaurant to help support the family. In Pittsburgh and then New York where they lived, Cathy had many friends. She was beautiful, sociable, mischievous and fun. Cathy also had a gift for learning languages and was proud of her ability to communicate fluently in English, along with two dialects of Cantonese and beginning Mandarin.

In 1965, Cathy married William Gene Yee and moved with her new husband to Scottsdale, Arizona. She had three children who became her life’s passion. Though she was employed in several different positions over the years, including key-punch operator at Motorola, hostess at a Chinese restaurant, co-manager of a jewelry store, bank teller, and receptionist for the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Phoenix, the job that mattered most to Cathy was her role as mother, and later grandmother. She dedicated herself to loving and providing for her children and grandchildren in all ways. Though family was always her main focus, Cathy enjoyed other hobbies as well, including gardening, cooking and sewing.

Cathy is survived by her husband, William Yee; three children, Douglas Yee, Cynthia (Yee) Fong and Brian Yee; three grandchildren, Joshua, David and Catherine Fong; her father and mother, Chee Shon and Sue Tam; and three siblings, Alice Lee, Elizabeth Moy and William Tam. She also leaves behind numerous other loving relatives and friends.

Private funeral services will be held for family members, with arrangements entrusted to Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary, 719 North 27th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009. The family wishes to thank all of those who cared for Cathy at the hospital during her long illness, and all the family and friends who have been so supportive in various ways. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent in her name to “Walking for the Waiting,” at P.O. Box 3762, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203.