Virginia "VJ" Yee

Virginia "VJ" Yee, born October 27, 1930, passed away peacefully on April 3rd at her home in Elk Grove, California. Virginia was born in San Francisco to William and Gum Look Jang. She was the sixth child among eight siblings. Her family moved to Salinas where she graduated from Salinas Union High School in 1948. Virginia later attended Hartnell College in Salinas before transferring to UC Berkeley. She graduated from Cal in 1957 with a degree in Social Welfare. Virginia was a member of the Sigma Omicron Pi sorority. Virginia met Calvin Yee in 1952. Calvin was in the US Army and based at Fort Ord in Monterey. The two got to know each other through various social gatherings. When Calvin was sent to Korea, he wrote endearing letters to Virginia. In August 1957, Virginia and Calvin were married in Sacramento. They settled in Loma Linda, California where Virginia worked as a social worker for the County of San Bernardino and Calvin attended dental school at Loma Linda University. Their first son, Bradley was born in 1958. Upon Calvin's graduation from dental school in 1959, the family moved to Sacramento. Bryant was born in 1961 and Bennett was born in 1964. The sons were referred to as the "3 Bs". Virginia was a dedicated homemaker and managed the household as Calvin developed his dental practice. They enjoyed family vacations taking trips to many cities, including Boston, Vancouver, Crater Lake, and Wyoming. In 1972, Calvin tragically passed away and Virginia single handedly raised the 3 Bs. Virginia became a strong, independent woman who loved to travel and try new experiences. She took the 3 Bs on a 5 week European vacation in 1977. In 2002, Virginia moved to Elk Grove. Virginia enjoyed taking trips with her children to places such as Hawaii, Cozumel/ Cancun, Cape Cod, and Orlando. In 2005 she took a trip to Tahiti and excitedly swam with sharks. In 2009, Virginia suffered a stroke. Although she slowed down a bit, Virginia continued to be active and have an enjoyable life. She will be sorely missed but we are so happy for her as she joins Calvin after being apart for 46 years. In addition to her sons, Virginia is survived by her daughters-in-law Tammy, Cindy and Kim and her six grandchildren (Calvin, Samantha, Kyle, Ryan, Justin and Siannah). She is also survived by her two sisters, Ruby Tom and Helen Yee. Any donations can be made to Vitas Community Connection (www.vitas.com) or to the Asian Care Center (ACC) (www.accsv.org).