Mom was born Flora Marie Lee, December 3, 1928, in Sacramento, California, to Wah Lee (father) and Louie Shee Lee (mother). She was the seventh of ten children, six sisters and four brothers. Her father was brought to the US by his father who came to work on the railroads. The family made a living from their laundry business in Sacramento.
Mom studied hard, both in public school and in Chinese school which she attended daily after public school classes. Even though her family was from Toisan, a rural area in China, she learned classical Cantonese because she wanted to enjoy Chinese opera with her father. Her knowledge of and skill with Cantonese and the written Chinese language would be a great help to her later in life.
During high school Mom’s friend, Dolly Wong, invited her to the Youth For Christ meetings held weekly. At first Mom didn’t want to go, so she made her younger sister, Leta, attend. Dolly persisted and eventually Mom went. She loved the music and singing the songs. She was touched by the message of God’s love and the invitation to have a personal relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She decided to follow Jesus and continued to attend the YFC meetings on Friday nights, even though her family initially didn’t allow her to attend Sunday worship services.
At a time when women were not encouraged to seek higher education, Mom entered Sacramento State College (now California State University, Sacramento). She also took correspondence courses from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (Biola). Her pastor, Frank Fung, had been educated at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon. He encouraged her to transfer to Multnomah. She did and was granted a Bachelor of Theology degree on June 5, 1956.
Mom moved to San Francisco as a missionary for Child Evangelism Fellowship, using her facility with both Cantonese and English to teach the Bible to children in Chinatown. She didn’t have consistent financial support but she walked throughout Chinatown asking churches to open their doors to Bible clubs for Chinese children. She lived at Gum Moon (formerly the "Oriental Home for Chinese Women and Girls”) run by the Women’s Home Missionary Society. But her trust in God’s provision didn’t waver.
Gum Moon was across the street from the Chinese Independent Baptist Church (CIBC) of San Francisco, where Mom met the new Christian Education Director, Gary Wong, a graduate of Biola. Dad became part of a close-knit family. They were married in Mom’s family home in Sacramento on September 7, 1957. Pastor Fung officiated, with her sister, Doris as the matron of honor and Doris’ husband, Bill, as the best man.
Mom continued to work as a CEF missionary after the births of Stephen and Lois, teaching children’s Good News Clubs wherever she could, including in our apartment on Clay St. With the birth of our brother, Daniel, our family outgrew the apartment and God provided a house for us on Congo St., where she continued to hold Good News Clubs for kids in the neighborhood. A couple of years later, our brother Philip was born.
CIBC SF’s sister church in Oakland was expanding and Dad was offered a position on the pastoral staff in the mid-1960s. Mom served alongside him, teaching Children’s Church on Sundays. She was also eager to get involved in “Release Time” when churches had the opportunity to offer Bible teaching in Oakland public schools. It was a great use of her own gifts and passions.
Dad was offered a position at Sunset Chinese Baptist Church (SCBC), a church started by people from CIBC SF. He took the opportunity to work in San Francisco again (they still lived in the house at Congo St.) with several of the people who had been in his youth group at CIBC SF. Mom again served alongside Dad, teaching Bible in Sunday School and in the preschools that were affiliated with the church, Sunrise Preschool and later The Ark Christian Preschool.
Mom also took an interest in the plight of the elderly in San Francisco, particularly those who spoke only Chinese and had little or no voice in how they were treated. Her facility with both Chinese and English again became a way that she could effectively serve others. She became an Ombudsman for the state Board of Consumer Affairs. But she got tired of the paperwork and decided to simply visit on her own and advocate for anyone that approached her with a need. Since she never drove, she took public transportation or had Dad drive her. He became interested in serving the elderly and joined her when he retired, giving their ministry the official name of Senior Citizens Outreach: SCOR. Besides visitation, they offered worship services in several nursing homes and led the seniors’ ministry at SCBC which included Bible studies, educational talks, speakers, and outings. Mom was able to serve people at both ends of the life span, teaching both children and seniors of God’s love while being a tangible expression of that love in their lives.
Dad preceded Mom into God’s presence in 2012. Lois came to live with Mom and care for her in 2017. Mom died peacefully at home on June 22, 2021, and went to be with God, whom she loved and served faithfully, and to join her sweetheart, Gary.
Flora is survived by her four children and their families: Stephen and his wife Winnie and their children Rebecca, Michaela and Joshua; Lois (Tony) and her children Erin and Colin; Daniel and his wife Christine and their children, Isaac, Jasmine and Ruby; Philip and his wife Betty and their children Kyle and Ethan. She is also survived by her youngest sister, Leta.
