Doyung Lee

On the morning of Wednesday, September 11, 2019, Doyung Lee, loving husband, father of three children and grandfather of five, passed away at age 88. Doyung was born on November 9, 1930 in Gangwon-do, South Korea to Seungsoo and Soonhee Lee. He was a veteran of the Korean War, while serving as a military policeman and an aide-de-camp. Passionate about politics, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Korea University and attended Georgetown University while working at the Embassy of South Korea in Washington, DC. While at Georgetown, he met U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who inspired him to fulfill a lifelong service of volunteerism. As an activist, he felt the need to create an organization where Koreans immigrating to the United States could receive support and assistance. In 1978, he founded The Federation of Korean Associations, USA. For three terms, he served as President of The Korean Association of Greater Washington, as well as President and Chairman of The Korean-American Republicans of Virginia. In 1987, he was recognized by Americans By Choice with the Honored American Award. The following year, he was honored by the South Korean government, in which he was the recipient of the Dongbaek National Honor Medal. In addition to his activism, he was a businessman, philanthropist, and real estate investor. Referred to as “President” or “Mr. Lee,” he enjoyed assisting the community, playing golf, traveling the world, and being surrounded by his grandchildren. He was very patriotic, loving both his birth country, South Korea, and his home country, the United States of America. He had an infectious smile and a kind and compassionate spirit. He would often say, “When you meet people, be kind as you might be the only Korean-American that person will ever meet, so you need to serve as a Korean-American ambassador.” Mr. Lee is survived by his wife Grace, his three children, Lily, Alex and James, his son-in-law Eric, daughter-in-law Heather, five grandchildren Daniel, Lucas, Tyler, Katherine and Elizabeth and sister, Gyungsoon Lee. A funeral service will be held at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 16, 2019 at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22151. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mr. Lee’s name to the American Diabetes Association or the Federation of Korean Associations, USA – 3030 W. 8th Street #402, Los Angeles, CA 90005.