91ÁÔÆæ

Jeanne Chan Yue ’41

Jeanne Chan Yue ’41, August 17, 2010, in Flushing, New York, three days after her 90th birthday, from myelodysplastic syndrome. Jeanne was born in Portland, graduated from Lincoln High School, and came to Reed, where she wrote a sociology thesis. Her father was Chin Luck, an influential member of the Chinese business community and restaurateur, who managed to bring Jeanne’s mother to Portland from Toisan, China, after a separation of almost 20 years. Jeanne lived on a farm, and later in a house near Reed, where she would often go home for lunch. In 1946, she married John Kwok Yue, who came from a prominent Cantonese family and had diplomatic status attached to Nationalist China. After the Communist Revolution wiped out the family fortune, Jeanne and John traveled to New York City for work. John retrained as a scientific illustrator; Jeanne worked as a secretary at Bank of America on Wall Street for 25 years. “After my grandfather died in 1942, her life became one of juggling the care of my grandmother, her husband, and children,” wrote her son, John Jr. “And, also, working on Wall Street, which was an hour and a half commute each way.” The family eventually settled in Flushing, New York, along with their sons, John Jr. and Alan. Jeanne retired in 1981 to care for her mother, who died at the age of 104. For many years, Jeanne was recording secretary of the local chapter of AARP. “She was a remarkable, kind, well loved, but humble woman. Until the end, she retained youthfulness in looks and her distinctive girlish voice. Her mind was bright up to the last day, and she never found a crossword puzzle she couldn’t demolish.” In addition to her sons, Jeanne is survived by four grandchildren.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2011

From the Archives: The Lives they Led

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