Gan Toy Lee

Gan Toy (Gee) Lee of Brookline passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 103 on May 30, 2020. In her final years, she was a resident in a nursing home in Quincy. She was the beloved wife of the late Wee Loon Lee. Loving mother to the late Hong Woo “Arthur” Lee and his surviving wife Alice Lee, Suzanne Lee and her husband Tak Matsusaka, Terry (Lee) Lui and her husband Raymond Lui. Cherished grandmother of Amy Lee, Andrew Lee and his wife Lillian, Angela Lee Chan and her husband Ed Chan, Allen Lee and his wife Lorraine, Kenji Matsusaka, Tim Lui, and Ted Lui and his wife Sou. Proud Great-Grandmother of Alex, Donovan, Rheanna, Owen, Krista, Annabelle, Ian, Brady, Mia, and Abigail.

Gan Toy, originally born in China, came to the United States in early 1956 to join her husband who lived in Boston since 1938 and her son who came here before her several years earlier. She started her life in the U.S. by reuniting with her husband in Massachusetts while living in an apartment in Roxbury with her son Hong Woo. She and Wee Loon then had another daughter, Terry, and then was later joined by their eldest daughter Suzanne who remained in China until they could send for her. After her son Hong Woo married Alice and had children, they all moved to a two-family home in Brighton – three generations living together, before settling and becoming life-long residents of Brookline.

She will be remembered as a tireless, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who was a provider, working long hours as a seamstress in the garment district in Chinatown, an avid gardener, tending to her garden where she successfully grew vegetables native to China such as bitter melon, Chinese greens, long beans and winter melon year after year, a skilled knitter who loved to crochet, and an excellent cook, who would wake early on the weekends to make delicious authentic Chinese delicacies and pastries that could not easily be found in restaurants or bakeries until recently.

After retirement, she enjoyed travelling, spending time in her vegetable garden, walks in the neighborhood, socializing with close friends and family, and cooking countless dishes made with love to share with her large family. She was happiest when surrounded by family, her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and extended family or watching her favorite sports team, the Boston Red Sox. The family will have a private service and burial in keeping with current social distancing guidelines. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mrs. Lee’s memory may be made to: South Cove Manor at Quincy Point, 288 Washington St., Quincy, MA 02169.