HERBERT KEE

KEE--Herbert,

age 88, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on March 15, 2018, after a lifetime of service to Chinatown. A community leader and family physician, Dr. Kee treated patients in his Oliver Street brownstone regardless of their ability to pay. He was an early supporter of the Chinatown Health Clinic and volunteered there into his 80s. He and his wife Virginia brought the first youth and Head Start programs to Chinatown and founded the Chinese-American Planning Council, now the nation's largest Asian American social services organization. A graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Penn State, Dr. Kee began his career as an engineer but decided to study medicine at age 36 after visiting the Hospital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti. He graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Herbert was elected Democratic District Leader in the 64th Assembly District. He served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church, a director of Hong Ning Housing for the Elderly, and a member of the MTA's Senior Citizens Advisory Board. He is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Virginia; sisters Margaret and Beatrice; and godchildren Glenn Lau-Kee, Josephine Ho, Jenny Low, Jeffrey Oing, and Terry Li. A memorial service will be held on April 7th at 3pm at The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, 12 W. 12th St. In lieu of flowers, checks for memorial donations to The First Presbyterian Church and the Chinese-American Planning Council may be mailed to LauKee Law Group, 354 Broome St., Suite 1, NY, NY 10013. Please RSVP here for the memorial service: hlkmemorial@gmail.com.