Lorraine Lee
Tucson native and vocal advocate for people in need, Lorraine Lee,
lost an 11-year battle with throat cancer on Oct. 31, 2008. She
was 51. For the last 24 years of her vigorous and spirited life,
Lee served as executive vice president of Chicanos por la Causa.
The daughter of a man of Chinese ancestry who had grown up in
the Phillipines and a Latino mother, Lee delivered memorable oratories
at rallies and events in support of the undocumented, the unappreciated
and the down-and-out. As the leading Chicanos por la Causa offical
in Southern Arizona, she worked tirelessly to provide affordable
housing and home ownership opportunities for families in our community
of modest means.
Lee grew up on Tucson's southside and never forgot her roots.
She served her childhood friends and relatives as chair of the
TCE Subcommittee of the Pima County Board of Health. This subcommittee
represented and advocated for southsiders who were exposed for
years to toxic and carcinogenic trichloroethylene in the water
delivered to their homes. When she later was striken with cancer,
she wondered if her childhood exposure to TCE might have been its
cause.
Many boards, commissions and councils were well served over the
years with Lee's membership. These included organizations associated
with Pima County, the city of Tucson, the University of Arizona,
the state of Arizona, the federal government and several charities.
Lee's dedication and consistent activism for justice and social
causes, particularly on behalf of the area's Latino and Asian communities,
earned her tremendous community respect and national recognition.
She was the recipient of numerous awards and honors for both her
activism and her professional accomplishments.
Bilingual and tricultural, Lee earned a degree from the University
of Arizona and went on to earn a graduate degree from the University
of California at Los Angeles.
In addtion to her career and her activism, and despite her long
and courageous battle against her fatal disease, Lee also was a
beloved wife, a devoted mother of three girls, and an involved
member of a large extended family.
Our loss of Lorraine Lee leaves this community with heavy hearts
and an aching void.
