Julie Nee

East Lyme - Julie Nee (Tong Wei-Chung), 77, of East Lyme, passed away on Saturday, May 2, 2009, surrounded by family and friends.

Julie was born on Oct. 2, 1931, in Su Zhou, China, and before long moved to Shanghai with her family. Growing up and having witnessed the Japanese invasion as well as the start of Communism, she made her way to Hong Kong in 1957, where she eventually met and married Nelson Nee in 1962. In 1973, she immigrated to the United States with her three children and lived to California where she helped take care of many extended family members until moving in with her youngest daughter to Connecticut in 2002. Julie had a magnetic personality that drew everyone to her even if they just met. Her spirit of hospitality was evident through her joy of cooking and entertaining. She loved to travel and her biggest regret is not having visited Europe or been on a Caribbean cruise. Julie was a loving mother whose spirit of devotion, strength and support will be greatly missed by each and every one of her children.

Julie is survived by her son, Michael Nee of Houston, Tex.; daughter and son-in-law, Angel and Brad Duncan of Burbank, Calif.; daughter, Nancy Nee of East Lyme; children's father, Nelson Nee of Shanghai, China; nephew, Ambrose; two nieces, Christina and Rowena, and a host of relatives and friends.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at Preston Congregational Church, 321 Route 164, Preston, CT 06365. The Gagne-Piechowski Funeral Home, 490 Voluntown Rd., Jewett City is in charge of arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made out to either the American Diabetes Association or the National Kidney Foundation in memoriam.