DORIS SHOONG LEE

1919 - 2018

DORIS SHOONG LEE Doris Shoong Lee, passed away August 26, 2018, after a short illness at her home in Las Vegas surrounded by family members. She lived her life with grace and dignity and left a remarkable legacy of philanthropy and achievement. Born in San Francisco's Chinatown December 20, 1919, she moved to Oakland with her family when she was five. Joe Shoong, Doris' father, emigrated from a small village in China to California at the turn of the century when he was 18 years old. As Doris explained, "he came over here with no language, no money, no relatives." Within a few years, Mr. Shoong founded the National Dollar Stores, a chain of dry goods stores which he expanded throughout the Western United States and Hawaii. Although she enrolled when she was 16 at the University of California Berkeley, her parents decided she should attend the University near her father's former village in China. She was stranded there when the Japanese invaded in 1937. As she escaped on the last boat out of China, Doris watched the Japanese bombs explode during the Battle of Shanghai. Doris returned to attend Stanford University. She married a fellow student when she was 19 years old and had three children. Her youngest daughter, Lisa, was disabled and Doris was steadfast in her care. Her involvement with the family business intensified upon her father's death in 1961. In her words, her duties were "management of books, advertising, accounting, and I took to accounting like a duck to water." As her first marriage ended and her children grew older, Doris spent more time stewarding the National Dollar Stores and thus met Theodore B. Lee, whose father had also emigrated alone at a young age from China to California. Upon his graduation from Harvard University, he returned to California, obtained both a J.D. and a M.B.A. from UC Berkeley, and worked as a prominent real estate attorney. Doris married Ted in 1969. Theirs was a loving, productive and devoted partnership which lasted almost 50 years. Aided by Ted's deep knowledge of land use planning, and Doris' acute business acumen, they formed the Urban Land Company in 1972. The privately-held real estate investment firm includes their sons, Gregory and Ernest Lee, as active members. Urban Land Company owns a wide range of properties in California and Nevada, including the Eureka Casino properties in Mesquite and Las Vegas. Doris remained deeply involved with both of her sons in the management of the family company until her final illness. Doris Lee was a generous benefactor in support of education and the arts. In addition to other substantial contributions, Doris served as trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation and endowed the Theodore B. and Doris Shoong Lee Distinguished Professorship in Real Estate Law and Urban Planning. Visitors to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco have seen numerous exhibitions which Doris Lee made possible by her financial support and Board membership. Her community involvement in Las Vegas included being a founding board member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, a Founder of the Smith Center, and a sponsor of live music for performances by the Nevada Ballet Theatre. Doris donated the land and funds for the Joe Shoong Park in Las Vegas. Doris and her husband established the first endowed professorship at UNLV's Boyd School of Law. The UNLV Lee Business School was renamed to recognize their generous support. Doris loved being a member of Nevada Women's Philanthropy, as well as other organizations which have made Las Vegas a stronger community. Doris was preceded in death by her two children, Lisa Tam and Richard Tam Jr. Doris is survived by many beloved family members; her husband, Theodore Lee; her son, Gregory Lee and his wife, Dana Su Lee; her son, Ernest Lee and his wife, Tatiana Lee; and her five grandchildren, Graham, Katherine, Luke, Harrison and Dylan, all live in Las Vegas; her daughter, Judith Tam Sargent; her grandchildren, Judy Mata, Bobby Sargent and Anne Howard; and great-grandchildren, Addison and Ari Schmidt, in Michigan. Celebration of the life of Doris Shoong Lee will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, August 30, at The Las Vegas Country Club, 3000 Joe W. Broan Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89109. At the family's request in lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory be made to the Nevada Ballet Theatre.