Jean Lee

Jean Suey Zee Lew (née Lee; July 26, 1924 – May 2, 2023) was a Canadian veteran of World War II and the only woman of Chinese-Canadian descent to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Women’s Division.

Early life Lee was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia on July 26, 1924, to Lee Look (Chow Man) and Huey Shee Lee. One of nine siblings, she had two brothers who also served in the military – Wilson John Lee who served with training command at Fort Macleod, and William, who served in the Korean War. From 1874, Chinese Canadians had been restricted from Canadian citizenship under a number of laws, including the Chinese Immigration Act, 1885 and the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, which was repealed after Canada signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her nephew Art Lee was the first Chinese Canadian to lead a provincial or federal political party, leading the British Columbia Liberal Party from 1984 to 1987.