Donna Lee Shu

Donna Lee Shu, age 67, passed away on February 3, 2024 in the comfort of her Portland, Oregon home with her daughter, Asia, and husband, Tom, by her side. She fought lung cancer valiantly for 3.5 years and left us knowing she was deeply loved.

Donna was born on October 3, 1956 on Long Island, New York. She grew up in a traditional Chinese household where academics were important. When she wasn’t devouring the 3 books she was required to read per week or practicing with the cheerleading squad, she could be found spending time with her friends. While she excelled in school, outside of the classroom she loved to laugh and have fun and often bent the rules to do so. Donna graduated high school in just three years and was accepted into the American College of Paris to which she applied without her parents knowing. At age 16, she left for France on her first big adventure of many. There, she studied for 2 years and then went on to study fashion in London for a year after that.

After her time in Europe, Donna moved back to New York City where she became a fashion editor at Glamour Magazine. She met her first husband, Paul, and eventually entered into the film industry. While things didn’t work out with Paul, she met her second husband, Tom, while taking his film production workshop in Maine, and they remained together for the remainder of her life.

Donna pivoted careers once more when she found her true calling as the volunteer President of DEBRA, a nonprofit for people with epidermolysis bullosa. Her niece, whom she loved dearly, had the disease, and Donna made it her mission to help in every way possible. She went on to lead an extremely successful career in patient advocacy and held impactful positions including Director of the Lymphoma Research Foundation of America.

Donna and Tom have one daughter, Asia. Donna loved Asia more than anything and Asia felt the same about her mom. They had the closest relationship a mother and daughter could have and Donna was thrilled when Asia and her husband decided to move to Portland before starting a family. Family meant everything to Donna and having her immediate family close by brought her many years of joy. Throughout Donna’s life, but particularly her last few years Donna expressed gratitude and love for her family daily.

Donna was incredibly adventurous. She retired in her 50s and spent much of her remaining years traveling the world. She trekked across mountains in Peru, climbed through caves in Vietnam, and went white water rafting through both India and Patagonia - just to name a few. She was also highly creative and became an artistic book maker. Most of her creations she gave to Asia and many were gifted to Donna’s close friends, of which she had many. Another passion of Donna’s was cooking. She was a gourmet chef and threw elaborate dinner parties to bring friends together for a delicious meal. She was also a yogi and practiced yoga daily up until her final days.

In 2023, Donna became a grandmother when Asia gave birth to a baby girl, Sloane Lee, named after Donna Lee. Donna was the most incredible grandmother for 10 beautiful months and the two shared an undeniable bond. Sloane would light up with a smile whenever grandma walked into the room. They also share strong will and determination. Although their time together was cut short, Sloane will grow up to know many stories about her caring, thoughtful, and courageous grandma.