Lin-Fa Lee

PHOENIX – Lin-Fa Lee, 86, passed away peacefully

Thursday, 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, Lin-Fa passed away peacefully at the Lund Home, a hospice in

Gilbert, Arizona.

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 US 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. A highly intelligent man, Lin-Fa was a polyglot who was fluent in five languages: English, Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and French.

Before completing his studies, Lin-Fa had already obtained a job with E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company in Wilmington, Delaware. After earning his masters degree, he was transferred to the plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which he moved to in 1966. He worked for DuPont for thirty 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.

Lin-Fa was very athletic and jogged 3-5 miles every day for many years. He enjoyed cycling and could often be found pedaling in the Tennessee Riverpark. His greatest passion, however, was hiking: Lin-Fa was an extremely active member of the Chattanooga Hiking Club for over two decades. 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.

When Lin-Fa wasn’t hiking, he was busy traveling the globe with his family. Whether it was taking a cruise down the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges in China; watching traditional dances in Ubud in Bali, Indonesia; cheering on the USA at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Olympics in 2012; relaxing to a massage in Bangkok, Thailand; watching a show in the Sydney Opera House in Australia; enjoying the views from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world in Dubai; or watching World Cup soccer matches in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Lin-Fa loved to travel with his sisters, his kids, and his grandson. He became an extensive world traveler, living life to its fullest.

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: www.patsummitt.org/donate