12/31/2025
John's Obituary
John Tong Lee of Inola, Oklahoma, passed away at the age of 69 on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, due to chronic health complications.
John Lee was born September 29, 1956 (1960) in Dok Mai Village, Xieng-Khouang, Paek Province, Laos; The only migrant and oldest son of surviving father Naocha Lee and deceased mother Sheng (Vue) Lee.
He was united in marriage for 34 years with his wife Ong Chang Lee who passed away in 2014. A persevering man, hard-working husband, disciplined father, kind grandfather, attentive son, and compassionate brother. He leaves behind his surviving nine children. Five sons, from oldest to youngest: Majors Lee of Springfield, Missouri, Alexander Lee of Sacramento, California, Tully Lee of Leominster, Massachusetts, and Komeng Lee and Tou Lee both of Springfield, Missouri. As well as four daughters, from oldest to youngest, Wonder (Lee) Yang of Greer, South Carolina, Jennifer (Lee) Good of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aimee (Lee) Xiong of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Linda Lee of Inola, Oklahoma.
He also leaves behind five surviving siblings. Two brothers: Bouahue Lee of Bori-Khamxay, Bolikhan District, Laos and Kao Lee of Xieng-Khouang, Paek District, Laos. As well as three sisters: Youa Lee of Bori-khamxay, Bolikhan District, Laos, Yee Lee of Xieng-Khouang, Paek District, Laos, and Ya Lee of Xieng-Khouang, Paek District, Laos.
Also, a proud grandfather, he is survived by his eleven grandchildren: Belle Yang, Elijah Lee, Rina Lee, Ivory Lee, Atreyeux Good, Damien Xiong, Elieas Good, Faith Lee, Grace Yang, Link Lee, and Winter Lee.
John Lee was born and raised in a small peaceful Hmong village called Dok Mai in the jungles of Xieng-Khouang, Laos to farmers Naocha Lee and Sheng Vue. He excelled in middle school, especially in English where he helped tutor other students, and at home helped his parents farm. In 1979, at the age of fifteen, he made the decision to join fellow villagers making an early departure, fleeing from the Vietnamese soldiers in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, towards Thailand. Unfortunately, the villagers who fled too late which included his family, were caught by the Vietnamese soldiers and forced to remain in the village. John Lee, alone, traveled by foot through miles of perilous booby-trapped terrain and climbed through landfills of dead co**se to safely reach the Mekong River, where he needed to cross to reach the rumored safety of Ban Venai Refugee Camp, Thailand. Then, he naively paid Thai boatmen to row him across Mekong River to the safer shores of Thailand, who could have ended up robbing him and throwing him overboard to drown. Upon safely reaching Thailand he continued on foot to the nearest bus station where he is transported to and settles in Ban Venai Refugee Camp, Thailand.
With his intellect and outgoing personality, he is able to land a job as a bus attendant filling the gas tank and cleaning the busses used to transport people in and out of the refugee camp. A few months into the job he meets a young girl who he is infatuated with and tries to woe her, as she and her family boards the bus, but he gets rejected. Fate brings them together again at the Thai International Airport where he was able to copy down her new address in the United States for himself.
The following year, 1980, he receives an American sponsor and flies to the United States settling with his cousin in San Diego, California. Immediately, upon arriving he enrolls in and achieves a Graphic Arts Certificate on July 24, 1981, at Midway Community College in San Diego, California. Before the end of the year, he lands a job as an English tutor at a local Adult Center for the Hmong, and finally has the money to travel to the address he wrote down to seek out, woe, and marry the young girl he briefly met in Laos. At the age of twenty-five John Lee marries Ong Chang Lee and settles in San Diego, California for a short time.
February 1982, at the age of twenty-six he and his wife start their own family with the birth of their first-born child, and every year thereafter another child to care for, all while juggling jobs and constant moving for financial stability. Living short periods all over California from San Diego to Merced, to Keyes, to Turlock, and settling in Modesto a few years; Where he joins a team of home building contractors as an apprentice and quickly learns to make a living building homes. Eventually, he decides to pursue electrical training and achieves a certificate in Maintenance Technician from Modesto Junior College on May 20, 1994. He then moves his family to Fresno for two years to pursue employment as a Service Technician for various apartment complexes. With no family support and as a first generation American brought turbulence and trying times. Nevertheless, he overcame life’s many obstacles and emerged as a resilient hard-working person.
In the summer of 1996, he relocated his family to Fitchburg, Massachusetts and found a job at Weetabix Company in Clinton, Massachusetts as a Maintenance Technician. With a stable job and the support of his wife they built their dream home and settled there for eight years. While employed at Weetabix he continued to improve his electrical skills and achieved a certificate in Maintenance Engineering on March 8, 2002.
Following the September 11th terrorist attack, America’s economy struggled and many lost their job. It was during this period that John and his wife decided to invest in a poultry business, enticed by the benefits of running their own business, and having their own land to farm and reap from. In June of 2004, amidst the rise and fall of the economy they sold their home, purchased a poultry farm and relocated to Cassville, Missouri. They quickly settled into their farm, remodeled the home, upgraded the business, and figured how to efficiently run their business. A year in, he was confident in letting his wife and older children run the poultry farm while he took on a regular full-time job. He started at Latco, Inc. in Cassville, Missouri, as a Service Technician and after a year, pursued a higher paying opportunity at Reliable Poultry in Neosho, Missouri (fka Barnhill Poultry) as an Electrical Technician, from 2005 to 2017, for twelve years.
Besides a full-time job and maintaining a poultry farm with his family John volunteered all his extra time to help random Hmong farmers resolve personal or technical issues with their own farm. Thus, his goodwill, generosity, and popularity grew within the Hmong Community of all the three neighboring states: Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Naturally, this brought about the opportunity for him to help the ever-growing Hmong Community of Southwest Missouri to establish and grow their non-profit organization, the Southwest Missouri Hmong Association. In 2012, John Lee, was voted in as Vice President of Southwest Missouri Hmong Association. Then, the following year, as President for the next two consecutive years, 2013 and 2014. During this time John Lee and his wife donated and helped erect the first Hmong Community Center for in Fairview, Missouri.
The most peaceful time in John’s life was in Missouri with his wife, Ong Chang Lee. He showed great pride in his farm and with the Hmong which he and his wife tirelessly cared for all their lives. John Lee once shared with his wife, “I am an immigrant with no family clan to support me and to share my skills with. I work hard for what I have and I work hard to help others like me because I hope one day when I need help there is someone to help me.” After the passing of his wife, he developed chronic health issues and made the decision to sell his farm in 2019 to his eldest son. The last few years of his life was spent joyfully vacationing in Laos with his youngest daughter Linda Lee and his girlfriends’ living a fun, youthful, and carefree retired life.
Services will be held from 8:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. Saturday, January 10, 2026 at McQueen Funeral Home in Wheaton. Burial will be at 3:00 P.M. at Maplewood Cemetery in Exeter, Missouri.
McQUEEN FUNERAL HOME
Wheaton, Missouri
417-652-7268
