In Memory: Lin-Fa Lee '58
Lin-Fa Lee '58, passed away June 27, 2019. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago and was living with his son Lawrence near Phoenix when he suffered a stroke. In accordance with his wishes to not be kept alive by artificial machines, he passed away peacefully at the Lund Home, a hospice in Gilbert, Ariz.
Born January 24, 1933, in Taipei, Taiwan, Lin-Fa is survived by his daughter, May M. Lee, of Santa Clara, California; son, Lawrence Formosa Lee, of Gilbert, Arizona; son, Lynn Franklin Lee, of Taipei, Taiwan; grandson Logan Faulkner Lee, of Taipei, Taiwan; and by three sisters, Chao-Tzu Chen Lee, Yen-Yu Chen Li, and Chin-Tsao Huang Lee, all from Taipei, Taiwan. He is also survived by a large extended family of nephews and nieces, grand nephews and nieces, and a host of friends and colleagues around the world.
Lin-Fa graduated from the number one high school in Taiwan, Jian Guo in 1951. He studied English at Tamkang University, graduating in 1956. Upon graduation, Lin-Fa immigrated to the United States to continue his studies: he obtained a bachelor's degree in Economics from Pacific University in 1958, two bachelor's degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics, respectively, from Oregon State University in 1961; and a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University in 1966. His education was primarily paid for with scholarships and summer jobs at the Dole cannery, with additional income from part-time jobs on campus during the academic year. He was a polyglot who was fluent in five languages: English, Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and French.
He worked for DuPont for 30 years in the Technical Section of the Fibers Department, eventually obtaining the title of research associate. While there he was credited with many innovative inventions, three of which earned him the recognition of a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office: a "process for sheath-core cospun heather yarns" in 1974; "sheath-core cospun heather yarns" in 1976; and "steam draw-jet process for making partially-oriented polyamide yarns" in 1992.
Lin-Fa became a naturalized US citizen in 1972. He loved to travel and purchased a 19' Midas Mini motor home in 1975 to drive his family all around North America, including Canada and Mexico. He also flew them to locations throughout Asia, including Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. He was passionate about photography and owned multiple SLR cameras and shot both slides and film of all his travels.
After retiring from DuPont in 1993, he spent six months hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 1995. When he wasn't hiking with his club in Tennessee, he would hike in exotic locales around the world, including New Zealand, Switzerland, Peru, Italy, Argentina, Chile, France, Costa Rica, Japan, China, Nepal, India, Taiwan, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Panama.
A Celebration of Life event was held July 27. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that a donation be made to the Pat Summitt Foundation in Lin-Fa's name. The Pat Summitt Foundation Fund awards grants to Alzheimer's related non-profit organizations that advance medical research, provide patient and caregiver support, and promote education and awareness.