Obituary: Gene Lee, owner of Lee’s Garden restaurant in Burlington, was on the go all the time
Gene Lee must have slept sometime. But his son Alex said he was on the go all the time.
Lee - who died April 27 at the age of 93 - was the owner of Lee's Garden, the one-time landmark restaurant in Burlington on Plains Road West near the Royal Botanical Gardens.
It operated between 1976 and 2000 and served traditional Chinese dishes to thousands of customers from all over.
Alex said his dad was bigger than life" and someone who didn't let the clock rule his time.
I remember him going to work about 10 a.m. and he would be there until 1 a.m. or later," said the refrigeration mechanic in Aldergrove, B.C. How could he be like that? He had energy. He was go-go-go."
He said, however, it wasn't just the business side of the restaurant that kept his dad busy - he also knew his way around the kitchen. Lee attended chef school in Montreal shortly after he came to Canada in 1955.
Alex said he often watched his dad handle bones with lamb and pork attached to them. The job was to trim off the fat.
Others would be lazy and trim off big pieces of pork or lamb," said Alex. Not him. He knew what to do."
Lee headed to Canada after experiencing life in communist China. His parents ran a small but successful department store and ran afoul of the local government. Lee's dad was jailed for exceeding the store's licence on rice wine. Lee did not want to leave, but his family says he knew it was only a matter of time before authorities came after him. He went to Hong Kong in 1952 with the help of friends.
Gene Lee was born Dec. 28, 1928, in Hoiping (Kaiping), Guangdong, China. While in Hong Kong, he trained to be a tailor. He made it to Canada with the support of his brother Jack, who ran Lee's Restaurant and Tavern in Mount Hope. In order to get into Canada quickly after three years of living in Hong Kong, his family says Lee used paperwork his brother had put together through Canadian immigration to bring a son over from China.
Lee brought his wife Helen and his two sons to Canada in 1959. The family eventually settled on the west Mountain.
Lee worked for his brother in Mount Hope and then in restaurants in Winnipeg, Burlington and Toronto. By 1962, he and his brother-in-law had saved enough to open Lee's Takeout and Delivery on Main Street West in west Hamilton.
Lee was also a partner in the Tien Kue Restaurant Inn, one of Burlington's most popular eating spots. It opened in 1959 and stood at Plains Road East and Maple Avenue. It could hold 300 people and Alex recalls it was busy.
The parking lot was like a Home Depot parking lot," he said.
It was expropriated due to road realignment and torn down in 1982. Lee partnered in a second Tien Kue Inn in Miami, Florida.
He opened Lee's Garden in Burlington after he sold his interest in Lee's Takeout. Lee suffered a series of strokes in the 1990s and his family then ran Lee's Garden. After the restaurant closed, the building was a church and a hot tub business. It is now the home of Hauser Furniture.
His son Chris and his wife Nelly said in a statement that Lee was hardworking, persistent, resilient, kind, smart and had good business sense.
He never forgot where he came from. He helped family members and friends both when he lived in China and when he immigrated to Canada. During those difficult times in China, family members that remained there may not have survived without his help."
Lee is survived by his sons Chris, Fred and Alex, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Carole. He was predeceased by his wife Helen in 2017 and his daughter Lori in 2011.
Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com