Lasting Memories

Richard W. Lee
June 4, 1956-Nov. 22, 2012
Palo Alto, California
Submitted by Susan Yee

Richard W. Lee, an engineer and 23-year-resident of Palo Alto, died Nov. 22 surrounded by his family. He was 56. Richard is remembered by many for his extraordinarily positive attitude and kindness, and for the way he lived fully and well, against medical odds, as he battled cancer for more than 17 years.

Born in Hong Kong on June 4, 1956, he immigrated to New York City with his family before the age of 10. He graduated from Brooklyn Tech High School in 1974 and earned a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1979. Later in his career, in 1988, he earned an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Richard held positions in engineering, consulting and management. He first worked in telephony for GTE Lenkurt, which at the time was the largest independent telephone company in the era of the Bell System. Later, drawn to the dynamic startup culture, he moved to Convergent Technologies as an early employee in engineering. After earning his M.B.A., he worked for Bain & Company as a management consultant and later returned to technology, working at several startups, including the networking company Auspex Systems. Richard loved reading about technology and staying up to date, studying trends and new developments, always eager to "connect the dots" and make a meaningful contribution.

In 1983, while back in New York to visit family, he met Susan Yee on a blind date. Their romance began soon after at Disneyland, and they married in 1986 in New York. While raising their children in Palo Alto, Richard was involved in scouting, swimming and coaching basketball. He was an enthusiastic fan of all three children as they competed in swimming, water polo, basketball and soccer, ever ready with encouragement from the sidelines.

He was an avid fan and statistician of UCLA and Bay Area sports teams, especially Bruins basketball and the San Francisco 49ers, which he loved to watch with his children.

Richard was a supportive husband and father, calm, gentle, compassionate and analytical at the same time. He saw the good in people and never spoke ill of others.

He is survived by Susan Yee, his wife of 26 years; their three children, Brandon, Sabrina and William Lee of Palo Alto; his parents, Shek Kiu and Mee Oi Lee of San Francisco; his brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Alice Lee of San Francisco; his sister and brother-in-law, Anna and Raymond Quon of Manalapan, N.J.; and many nieces and nephews.