Obituary of Joan Chiang Shan Long Lee

Joan Chiang Shan Long Lee, born April 18, 1936, in Shandong, China, to Chiang Shu-Chuen and Kuk Yuen-Heung, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Bellaire, Texas.

Joan was preceded in death exactly one week prior by her son, Dominic Lee; her eldest son, Francis Lee; her husband, Luke Lee; and her sister-in-law, Miranda Chiang.

Joan is survived by her son Felix Lee (husband Joseph Lo), daughter Margaret Pinkston (husband Paul Pinkston), grandchildren Alex Lee, Teresa Pinkston, and Luke Pinkston, brother Phillip Chiang, niece Jennifer Chiang, and Daughter-in-Law Jun Huang.

Born during the Great Depression, Joan’s education was limited to elementary school as she helped her parents manage the household at an early age. Having been raised in a Catholic home, she married Luke Lee, a devout Catholic, at the age of 21. Together, they started building a family and eventually had four children, having lost Francis, her first-born, at age 11. Joan single-handedly raised the children herself as a seamstress in Hong Kong while her husband spent much time overseas on business. When she wasn’t making clothes, she made money trading stock and often took Margaret with her and sat in front of bank windows to watch stock prices.

When the family moved to Mauritius, she continued supporting her children’s education. When it was time for Felix to go to college, she pushed to move the family to the United States so that her children could have an American college education. While in Houston, Joan and Luke opened an American Chinese restaurant where they worked long hours, seven days a week. She provided the means for all her kids to attend college. Dominic graduated with a PhD, and both Felix and Margaret with a Masters.

While Margaret was in college, Luke suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. She cared for him for almost 14 years while running an at-home daycare. This is where she encountered many families who became an integral part of her life. One specific family is the Chau family. She cared for Henry starting at one-month-old, his older brother Peter, and cousins Annie and Sam. Most recently, she had the honor to walk down the aisle at Henry’s wedding a few months before she passed away.

Joan lived her last decade with the Pinkston family, where she helped raise her grandchildren, Teresa and Luke. Joan went on almost every trip with the family, and together, they traveled all around the world. She helped host and cook for many Chinese New Year’s Eve dinners, Thanksgiving lunches, Christmas dinners, and special birthday noodles. She also had a very busy social life, surrounded by friends she met at her Chinese choir and the Houston Chinese Church.

She lived 88 wonderful years. She always had a smile on her face. “Sweet” was the word everyone would use to describe her. She made friends with everyone she met. She loved being with the whole family, and that’s how she left this earth, at home, with the entire family around her.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Houston Chinese Church, 10305 S. Main Street, Houston, TX 77025., on Saturday, March 15, 2025. A reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MD Anderson, The American Heart Association, or the American Diabetes Association.

The family would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers this past year and those who cared for her at Methodist Hospital, Doctor’s Choice Home Health, Houston Hospice, and her caretakers, Terry Coley and Laurnia Taylor. Although they were only with her briefly, they loved her like they had known her for a lifetime.