Siani Lee

SCHUYLKILL TOWNSHIP, PA. - Siani Lee, 39, was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2001. Siani was fatally injured in a traffic accident in Schuylkill Township, Chester Count, Pa. Siani was known to the Tidewater community as Margaret Englett. Margaret changed her name to Siani Lee as she began her professional career. Her popular broadcast personality gained from her six years anchoring at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia and her two years co-anchoring with Larry Kane of KYW-3 Eyewitness News, also of Philadelphia, led to many parents naming their newborn babies after Miss Lee. She received hundreds of letters and pictures of baby girls named "Siani," even though her name was originally a boy's name given to her by longtime friend, Arlene Blount. Siani was born in Korea and was raised on various military bases around the world, but Newport News (Denbigh) was always home to Siani and her two brothers, Thomas and Patrick Englett. Family was very important to Siani even with her busy schedule—so important that she moved her mother to the Philadelphia area to be closer. Miss Lee attended Denbigh High School and graduated in 1985 from Hampton University where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in mass media communications and journalism. She began her career in 1987 at WTKR-TV in Norfolk as an associate producer. She continued in various positions anchoring and reporting from WTOC-TV in Savannah, Ga., to WMAR-TV in Baltimore, Md. While in Washington, D.C., Lee received the prestigious Dateline Award from the local Society of Professional Journalists for her in depth reporting on race relations. In 1997, Lee won a Philadelphia area Emmy Award for live special coverage for anchoring the 1996 Olympic Torch Run. Siani was active in her community, serving on the board of MANNA, which provides meals to AIDS patients in their homes, as well as the Philadelphia Chapter of Asian-American Journalists and the Susan D. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Miss Lee had a beautiful singing voice which was well known to Tidewater. Siani worked her way through college singing in Top 40 bands on the Peninsula. Recently, she accompanied Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops at a fund raiser for AIDS. Funeral services were held on Oct. 31 at the Antioch Church of Philadelphia in Conshohocken, Pa. Burial was held on Thursday, Nov. 1, in George Washington Memorial Park, also in Pennsylvania. Any memorial contributions should be mailed to: The Siani Lee Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 586, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. Siani leaves to forever cherish her memories her mother, Lillian L. Englett of Pennsylvania (formerly of Denbigh), her brothers, Patrick of Yorktown, Va., and Thomas of Philadelphia. We watched you grow—how well you blossomed—you worked hard for success—but God loved you best—so He called you home to rest—Your Mom, brothers, Thomas and Patrick, friends, Arlene, Richard and Siyani Blount, Kathy Thompson, Cheryl Kinsey, Ingrid Johnson and Kui Lee.