Ying Chow Lee

Ying Chow “YC” Lee, age 91, died peacefully in his sleep on March 30, 2016 in Boulder, CO. He had been battling multiple medical problems including kidney disease and heart disease for several months.

YC was born in Shanghai, China, although he was a citizen of the United States due to his father’s birth in Hawaii. He attended St. Johns University in Shanghai, China, where he obtained a degree in business, before moving to the United States for college. He attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he received two bachelors degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. YC then went to Philadelphia, PA, where he received his MS in both Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University. He worked at RCA in Camden, NJ, for many years. His work included developing some of the first computers. In the early 70s, he and his family moved to California where he worked at Xerox until his retirement.

YC lived a very active life. He was a ranked table tennis player into his senior years and won many trophies. He played all of his life until just months before he died. Along with playing, he was dedicated to supporting and expanding the table tennis community. He served as vice president of the United States Association of Table Tennis (USATT) and as treasurer of the USATT foundation. He helped start the Los Angeles Chinatown Table Tennis Club. YC was among the first in the US to pass the international umpire test and umpired for tournaments held all over the world. He not only umpired but also improved the umpire process in the US. He made many table tennis friends throughout the world. In 1999, he was inducted into the USATT Hall of Fame.

His other major activity was as a member of the FF Fraternity. YC joined FF Fraternity in 1954. When he moved to California, he became a founding member of the Los Angeles chapter. He served at all levels of the fraternity and organized numerous meetings and reunions. He enjoyed traveling to reunions and building and maintaining fellowship with his brothers and sisters of the fraternity.

YC was the loving widower of Fae H. Lee. They shared 56 wonderful years together.

He is survived by his daughters Adrienne Lee and Michele Lee, his son-in-laws Peter Foltz and Trey Dodson, and his grand daughters Miranda, Molly, and Marianne.

There will be private services for YC in Boulder, CO and Los Angeles, CA. Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (www.apiasf.org, 2025 M Street NW, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20036) or the American Kidney Foundation (https://aakp.org, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852).