Ngook King "Connie" Lee

ngook lee
Ngook King Lee, also known as Connie by many, was a very loving, caring, giving, and nurturing person. Born in a village outside of formerly Canton, China on July 24, 1931 to Doo Chew Leong and Ngan Chin, she was the 3rd oldest of 5 children. She is survived by her loving sister, Rui Lian Huang, and brother, Guo Cai Liang, and their respective families; and families of her late siblings. As a young girl, she helped out in her father’s pawn shop business, later worked in a factory in Hong Kong where they manufactured light bulbs—her specialty was installing the filaments; and also enjoyed her time at a basket weaving job. At 19 years old, she took the bold step to come to America to seek a better life and meet up with her eldest sister, May Leong, but was very sad to leave the rest of her family.

On June 11, 1950, she married Jeung Yin Lee and resided in Washington, D.C. Together, they had 4 children- David, Jeannie, William, and Mimi. She was always a very strong, determined, and independent woman. She took over the laundry/dry cleaning business from her husband on Capitol Hill, when he started in the Chinese grocery store and later the restaurant business in Chinatown. At the laundry, customers included some prominent folks like the DC Mayor, senators, and lawyers in Washington D.C., she worked for over 40 years—12 to 14 hours per day, 6 days a week, while raising 4 kids. As if this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she also helped her husband with the logistics of the restaurant business. She was a strong advocate for education as she made sure her kids were all college educated to hopefully open up life opportunities that she didn’t have growing up in China. She was always there to guide and support us through the good, bad, and rough times. She’s the ideal super Mother we will always cherish. She loved family gatherings and preparing extravagant meals during the holidays, birthdays or just because. As a young mother, family excursions with friends included weekly outings to Chesapeake Beach, annual trips to NYC Chinatown to buy things we couldn’t get in the DC area at the time, and an extravagant trip to the New York World’s Fair. She was an awesome cook, always making authentic Chinese meals we all looked forward to and craved. Although she started a new life in the U.S., she always had fond memories and supported her family back home in China and Hong Kong, sending them money and ultimately sponsoring her siblings and their families to come to America so they too could have opportunities at a new and comfortable life. At 50 years old, she became a widow.

About 8 years later, she met George Goon, and it was then that she got to experience a “second life” filled with fun, leisure, and travel. In 1989, she retired at 58 and together they moved into a home in Silver Spring, MD, that was large enough to hold many family dinners and celebrations. Her four kids were grown and starting families as were his three adult children (John, Lyman, and Dorleen). The house was filled on many occasions by both growing families, in addition to other cousins and friends. The next generation included 8 Lee & 6 Goon grandkids and 2 Lee & 2 Goon great-grandkids.

She became an active member of the Chinese Community Church where she loved to participate in and support church activities. She engaged in Bible study programs, fellowships inside and outside the church. She had the opportunity to travel the world which she felt so blessed to do with so with many friends. Some of her travels included China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Vancouver, California, Las Vegas, NYC, and others. Holiday Park Senior Center in Kensington and Wheaton Plaza in the mornings were also favorite places where she got to exercise doing Tai Chi, take daily walks, take in lunches, and spend quality time with her fun-loving friends. Casinos were also an occasional entertainment for her, she was able to relax and just have fun. Playing the slot machines with games like “Wheel of Fortune,” “Gone Fishin,” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory“ were among her favorites. She loved to garden, growing flowers and Chinese vegetables, and was a shopper who loved jewelry and clothes. She was quite the seamstress too when it came to tailoring her clothes for a perfect fit, and even making adjustments to include pockets that were always a must in her slacks. In her early years, she made fashionable dresses for herself and her daughters.

As mom got older, she began to experience health issues that would hinder her ability to enjoy some of her favorite past times and to be totally independent as she has always been. After George passed away in 2011, she found it very difficult to live alone in a large house. Eventually, she moved to Arlington, VA in 2016 to live with her eldest son and wife, and to be near her other children.

She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who passed away on May 10, 2020, shortly before her 89th birthday. Beloved wife to the late Jeung Yin Lee for 31 years, and later, to the late George Goon for 22 years; devoted mother to David Lee (Miu), Jeannie Lee (Theodore), late William Lee (Helen), Mimi Born (Paul), late John Goon, Lyman Goon (Donna), Dorleen Black (Pat); caring grandmother to Bryan Lee (Jackie), Amanda Lee, Matthew Lee (Katherine), Jessica Lee, Christina Lee (Andrew), Andrea Lee (Evan), Keith Born (Rachael), Michael Born, Amy Goon Monitor (Roy), Marty Goon (Megan), Kyle Goon, Marissa Goon, Elizabeth Black (Nick), Rebecca Black (Robert); and affectionate great-grandmother to Sophie Lee, Valentine Born, Zoe Goon, and Romy Goon.

Service info: Money & King Funeral Home in Vienna, VA and burial at George Washington Cemetery in Adelphi, MD. A private memorial service will be held with just the immediate family due to the imposed 10-person pandemic limit. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable contribution to the Chinese Community Church at 500 I Street NW, Washington DC 20001, “In Memory of Connie Lee.”

For a printable pdf version go to-- https://www.dropbox.com/s/71nhk6a0d7wf6nl/Ngook-King-Lee-bio.pdf?dl=0

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  1. The Family and Staff at the Money and King Funeral Home, wish to express our sincere sympathy to you. It is our hope that we may be able to make a difficult time more bearable. Please feel free to call us anytime as we are always available to you. Bob Gallagher Funeral Director

  2. Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss. Our family is keeping your family in our thoughts and prayers. We are all here for you if you ever need anything. With love, The Dang Family

  3. We are saddened to hear about your Mom. Loved that special lady! We enjoyed her warm personality and hugs. At church, we would stop by her lunch table of friends and share a big hug. Though I think she enjoyed Matt’s hugs best. 🙂 She will be missed. Cannot imagine the loss you are feeling. Sending you and your family hugs and prayers!! Hugs, Matt, Peggy and Kevin.


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