Chongme Lee
April 28, 1947-Aug. 8, 2024
Menlo Park, California
On August 8, 2024, we lost our mother, grandmother and dear friend, Chongme Lee. We all knew and loved her as Mea. She was 77 years old.
Mea is now with her beloved husband and hero**, Peter Lee. Mea and Peter eloped after only knowing each other for two months and shared nearly 55 “years of bliss”. If there were ever two soulmates on this earth, it was Peter and Mea. Together, they raised their daughters, Christina Vo and Maya Watts, and loved with all their hearts their four grandchildren, Eleanor Vo, Jordan Vo, Mea Watts and Meilani Watts. We would be remiss not to include their first loves, their dogs: Spoofy, Cinnamon, Spunky (x2), Pebbles and Bogey (who is still going strong at 14-years old).
Mea was the strongest person we know. The tiniest yet the strongest. For 45 years, she fought Lupus with infallible grace, determination and positivity. At every turn, she defied the odds and inspired us all. No matter the diagnosis or number of close calls or how sick she felt, she never complained. She pushed through and fought to be there—for every gymnastics and swim meet, baseball and softball game, dance and musical performance. Mea didn’t want to miss a single moment with her family, especially her grandchildren—so, she didn’t.
Mea was brilliant. But quietly so. Many did not know that she graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a BS in Biology and worked as a computer scientist before getting sick. Her friends were always surprised to learn that she didn’t speak a single word of English when she moved to the US at age 14 from Daegu, South Korea, because she had mastered the language and her American accent. She would never tell you, but Mea could solve any puzzle, do calculus with an abacus and scored a perfect 800 on her Math SAT.
Mea could do anything… At less than 100 pounds, she could eat any one of us under the table (she loved to eat!), including her two sons-in-law, Tan Vo and Keith Watts. Mea was also an incredible artist. Our homes and walls are bright with her beautiful pillows, quilts, rugs, Christmas stockings, ornaments—even furniture—that Mea crafted over the years. She taught herself calligraphy and hand-printed both Christina and Maya’s wedding invitations. She designed our beloved Tahoe cabin that still stands in its original form, nearly 50 years after she and Peter built it. And she hand-drew, to exact architectural standards, blueprints for the kitchen remodel for her and Peter’s home in Menlo Park (where Maya and her family reside today).
The list goes on because Mea did it all. In her last moments, she spoke of Peter and how much he loved life. She continually repeated: “He loved life. He lived life like he loved life. He always said yes.” And that’s how Mea lived. She always, always said yes. To trying new things, to relentless practice and patience to master a new skill—to just going for it—no matter how insurmountable the challenges before her.
We will remember Mea for her sheer bravery and grit—and daily optimism. For her elegance and beauty. But, mostly we will remember her for her love. She loved unconditionally and selflessly. She radiated warmth and always shared empathy.
Mea’s instincts to love, protect and hold her grandchildren and children were so strong. Even in her last moments (when it was a struggle just to breathe), whenever she heard our voices or felt our presence, her arms would automatically reach out to embrace us—and she’d open her eyes, smile and say, “I love you.”
Mea was smiling until the end. Her eyes bright and her mind clear, she said she had no regrets. She lived her life fully because she loved life. She treated every day as a gift, because it was.
- **Hero Note: The proudest day of Peter’s life was the day Mea told him that he was her hero.
- Photo Note: The photo above is of Mea and Peter, celebrating 50 years of bliss in December 2015, at The French Laundry with Christina and Maya.
- Family History Notes: Mea was born on April 28, 1947 in Daegu, South Korea, to Kyu Taik (KT) Lee and Sook Kyung (SK) Lee, both of whom were medical doctors. SK was one of the first women in Korea to complete medical school and become a pediatrician. KT attended medical school in Seoul and became an army doctor during Japanese occupation. He then earned his PhD in pathology at Washington University, St. Louis, and became world-renowned for his research in atherosclerosis at Albany Medical School. His move to the US to conduct his research was what brought Mea and her family to upstate New York, where she met Peter at RPI only four years later. Mea always said that her life began when she met Peter.
