Jerome Lee

On August 16, 2021, Jerome Lee passed away after a period in hospice care in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jerome was born in Taipei, Taiwan on September 6, 1927. His parents were Yanbin Lee, a banker and grandson of Li Chunsheng who, together with John Dodd, were known as the founding fathers of Taiwanese tea and who built several churches in Taiwan. His mother was Hezhen Bai, the daughter of a book publisher in China, including English Bibles, and was from a family of scholars in medicine and philosophy. Jerome was predeceased by two brothers and three sisters.

Jerome's father died while Jerome was a boy, leaving his mother a widow with 6 children to support on little income. Although he contracted polio as a child, Jerome did not let his physical disability limit him in supporting the family. One year he received the top score in high school for the academic year, for which he received an entire year's supply of rice for his family when they needed food.

Jerome lived during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan during World War II. He appreciated many cultures, attended a high school run by Zen Buddhist monks, and was raised in a Christian family. After the war, Jerome graduated from National Taiwan University (1950), with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. In addition to being fluent in Taiwanese and Mandarin, he studied classical Chinese, classical Japanese, and English.

He worked as a teacher in Taiwan and became an Engineer at the Taiwan Provincial Department of Reconstruction from 1952 to 1955, including projects in agriculture; and Industrial Project Analyst for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Taiwan from 1956 to 1958. As a Senior Engineer at the Taiwan Machinery Industrial Company in Tainan from 1959 to 1961, he was employed to design and build new kinds of bicycles and agricultural equipment. He worked as Senior Engineer at Lees Brothers company from 1961 to 1963.

Along with work as an engineer, Jerome was also active with the local YMCA. In addition, he was involved in the Presbyterian Church of Formosa and its Church and Industry Study, a three-year program based at Tainan Theological College, investigating and implementing "urban-industrial ministry", which sought ways to improve and develop locally the witness of the church in relation to the rapid social change brought about by industrialization and urbanization in Taiwan. Jerome was a lecturer at the Taiwan agricultural vocational school and at Taiwan Theological College. He was then chosen by the Overseas Study Committee to go abroad for one year with a focus on urban-industrial ministry. This year abroad, from April 1963 - April 1964, included travels to Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, England, and USA, and was sponsored by the Office of Leadership Development of the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations of the United Presbyterian Church USA.

After his travels, Jerome enrolled at and graduated from Kansas State University with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1967. He decided on a career as a nuclear engineer because of his interest in the challenge of a new scientific area and its means to harness nuclear energy for peaceful ends.

From 1967 to 1989, Jerome was a nuclear engineer with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Chattanooga, TN with experience in quality engineering, operations research and computer science. TVA supported further graduate coursework and training in linear programming and nuclear engineering. His areas of experience included heat power engineering, nuclear fuel design and performance analysis, thermo-hydraulic analysis, reactor components design and analysis, stress analysis, material science, optimization techniques, and mathematical modeling and computer application.

In 1972, Jerome married Melissa Hsieh, daughter of Shuichi Hsieh, who was a physician, and Lin Jing, who managed his home physician office. Jerome and Melissa had two daughters, Angela and Beatrice.

From 1990 to 1997, Jerome worked as a Japanese interpreter and in Far East sales in equipment for physical therapy.

From the 1980s to 2000s, Jerome was very active in community activities both locally and abroad. He was an elder at Northside Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, TN, and was a volunteer Japanese interpreter at the Chattanooga Language Bank. He participated in the People to People international program with physical therapists in the United States and he traveled with them to China on an exchange program with physical therapy and rehabilitation hospitals there. In Taiwan, Jerome was a lifetime member of the YMCA and regularly attended his high school reunions. In Japan, he was a member of the post-polio survivors support group and was actively involved in advocacy and education.

Jerome taught his daughters to appreciate arts of all kinds, as well as gardening, and of course mathematics and science. Jerome enjoyed reading math books, frying tempura and shrimp chips on the deck, telling his kids Japanese stories like Momotaro, and sharing part of his Asian culture.

After his retirement, he enjoyed his hobbies of painting; and various daily readings of Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, National Geographic, history and theology books.

Jerome had a strong faith in God and believed in Christ. He saw knowledge and each life opportunity as a blessing from God. He enjoyed the weekly fellowship and discussion at Sunday school class with his wife Melissa, at Northside Presbyterian Church.

Jerome will be missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and their families.

In the spirit of Jerome's passion for the earth and gardening, in lieu of sending flowers, please consider planting trees and plants in his memory.