

Yu Chung Lee passed away unexpectedly on August 29, 2026 at the age of 88 in Columbia, South Carolina. He was born on September 5, 1937 in the Zhejiang Province, China. He was the beloved husband of Nancy Lee with whom he shared 57 happy years of marriage. They met in Buffalo while they were both in graduate school in 1967. Together they raised two children - Warren (Dr. Linda Tang) and Debbie (Nick Phillips). In his later years, he was blessed with love for his four grandchildren - Vivian, Michelle, Nathan, and Lily.
Yu Chung came to the US in 1963 to pursue educational opportunities, earning a Masters from the University of Rochester and a PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, he spent 4 years in academia before transitioning to the private sector. He then worked for over 38 years at Westinghouse in suburban Pittsburgh and Columbia as a nuclear engineer, earning several patents for his hard work.
Yu Chung loved classical music and the PIttsburgh Steelers, and passed these loves on to his children. He was extremely handy and mechanically inclined, as he could fix car engines, build bookcases, and wire home electrical connections - however none of these skills passed down. He enjoyed eating Chinese food, especially seafood, and his wife's cooking. He would always leave his plate clean after every meal (and others' plates). He started his morning off with coffee and Chinese tea. and looked forward to 'splitting beers' with his children. Lastly, he tried keeping sharp with brain games - playing chess, Chinese checkers, Blokus, and Words with Friends, flipping Mahjong tiles, and attempting to become a genius in New York Times spelling bee even though we knew he was just putting in random letters.
Yu Chung was an immigrant who learned English as a second language to provide for his family. He was a humble, kind, decent and loyal family man with a strong work ethic. He was our hero and will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. Jude Children's Reserach Hospital memorial fund in his name here https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR?px=9357095&fr_id=154020&pg=personal
There will be a private family service on September 5 at the Dunbar Funeral Home in Northeast Columbia.
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