John Yee

John Yee, age 69, of Wayne, NJ, passed away peacefully to join our Lord on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020.

Family, friends, and people who would meet John, even briefly, would describe him as a Gentle Man.  Affectionately called Poppi or Pop by the family, he blessed everyone he encountered with his kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity. Whether helping his children/grandchildren with homework, hanging a ceiling fan, doing everyone’s taxes, fixing just about anything, providing guidance or support, Pop was always there to help out with patience and a big smile.

John was a true Renaissance man.  Incredibly bright and intelligent, he knew and could speak about pretty much anything.  Cars, cooking, chemistry, music, literature, science, computers, trivia, you name it and he knew something about it.  He was a “jack of all trades”, master of some and bright enough to speak intelligibly about the rest.  

Some of John’s passions include preparing the turkey and hosting Thanksgiving dinner for family and anyone who didn’t have a place to go to celebrate, sampling and enjoying various cuisines, playing mahjong and going to the casinos with family, traveling, computers, crossword puzzles, bowling, Star Trek/Sci-Fi, fixing things and helping others but mostly, spending quality time with family and friends.

John’s number one passion here on earth was the love of his life over 50 years, his wife Gloria or Ling as he called her.  They started their life together as husband and wife in Miami, FL and both worked at Hydrocarbon Research He was focused on whatever made her happy as that brought him in the most joy in the world.  There is nothing that he would rather do than spend time with his partner in life, his loving wife, and his best friend.  Raising the family, going to the gym, walking the dogs, shopping, going out for a bite to eat, ballroom dancing, bowling, watching movies, and just doing anything where they could be together are what they most enjoyed doing.

In addition to all of this, John made time to serve his Lord and others at First Lutheran Church of Clifton where he served on the Church Council, Usher, Communion Assistant and also help with VBS.  He also helped behind the scenes at the OCA, Organization of Chinese Americans, where Laura, Alyson, Jenny, Crystal, and Sheryl (his niece) serve as Board Members.

John was the rock and foundation of our family.  He was the loving husband to Gloria for 46 years, beloved and caring father to Derek and his wife Jenny of Rockaway, NJ, Laura of Wayne, NJ, Jonathan (who is already in heaven. and his wife Darlene of Victory Gardens, NJ, Alyson of Wayne, NJ; devoted and nurturing grandfather to Crystal, Devin, Danica, Cinnamon, and Caleb; dear brother to Sheck Young, David, Calvin, James, John and Steven and dear uncle to numerous nieces, nephews and grandnieces/nephews.

John has joined our Heavenly Father and our family members in heaven.  His warm smile, big heart, and willingness to help will be missed by all.

Donations in John's memory would be greatly appreciated.  Please consider the First Lutheran Church, 1337 Van Houten Ave, Clifton, NJ 07013.