Pearl Wong Yee

She was an amazing Mother, Wife, Sister, and Daughter. She was a courageous warrior in everything she did.

We will always cherish her attitude of putting others first, treating everyone with equanimity and having a “no ego” attitude.

Born on November 6, 1923 in the Mong-Yi village of Toisan, China, Pearl faced many hardships in her childhood. There was widespread famine and starvation and her family survived on eating leaves and grass. As a peasant, she did heavy manual work in planting rice and carrying water from the nearby river. But because she worked in the fields, she was able to escape foot binding, which was a common practice on young women in those days. When she was a teenager, Pearl also survived the tragedy of seeing one of her older sisters killed by lightning.

One of Pearl’s happiest days was when she got married to Bing Get Yee in 1939. She was 16 years old; Bing was 19. However, shortly after they married, World War II broke out and Pearl was separated from Bing for 13 years due to the Japanese occupation of China and U.S. immigration laws that prohibited Chinese husbands to bring over their wives from China. The law was eventually repealed in 1946. But Bing didn’t bring Pearl over immediately because he wanted to finish college first before bringing Pearl over. However, with the Chinese Communist Party winning the Civil War in 1949, Pearl had to decide whether leave or stay in China. If she stayed, then she risked being trapped in China and never see Bing again. Through the help of her older sister who was already in Hong Kong, Pearl escaped to Hong Kong.

In 1951 Bing finally brought Pearl to the U.S from Hong Kong. and she started a brand new life. She first lived in Los Angeles for a year, then lived in Detroit for 5 years, Baldwin Park for 3 years and finally West Covina for the remaining 62 years. While in Detroit, she single-handedly raised 3 children who were all in diapers as they were 11 months apart. That’s because Bing was always on the road selling life insurance to support the family.

Pearl provided the steadiness and stability at home that allowed Bing to be successful. Pearl also was one of Bing’s best counsel when it came to making business decisions. Even though Pearl only had a 3rd grade education in China, intuitively she had a “6th sense” about what was best for business and the family. Bing couldn’t have been as successful without Pearl’s support.

Although English was not her first language and she didn’t go to high school or college, Pearl knew the value of a good education. Every night she would quiz each of children on the multiplication tables to make sure they each had a strong foundation.

And her connection with nature was very strong. For nearly 50 years, Pearl grew Chinese vegetables in her backyard. Bok choy and winter melon during the cold months of the year. Long Chinese string beans, amaranth and bittermelon during the hot months. She was the consummate grower. She only grew organic vegetables—this was before there was anything called organic vegetables.

Along with her green thumb, Pearl was indeed the “head chef” at home. Her “Hom Yee Jing Ji Ngok” was to die for. Every meal was an executive meal :-)

Thanks Mom for all the blessings you gave to our family and friends!

Pearl is survived by her three sons (Calvin, Lewis, and Winslow), three daughter-in-laws (Cindy, Christine and Lisa), 7 grandchildren (Carla, Joshua, Aryana, Terence, Everett, Perris, and Kaylene), one great-grandson (Zion). Her husband (Bing Get Yee), her daughter (Vicky) and her older sister (Wong Gee Goot) are predeceased.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.rosehills.com for the Yee family.