‘Mr. UBC’ dedicated to brighter future
ORDER OF CANADA
Few people in Vancouver have had the impact of Bob Lee. He grew up in humble circumstances in Chinatown, but rose to the top of the Vancouver business world.
Lee died Wednesday at 86. No cause of death has been announced.
Business magnate Jimmy Pattison said Lee “was a very humble guy, always friendly. Very sincere, nothing put on about Bob Lee. He cared about people, about his friends, about the community.
“My gosh, what he did at UBC is second to none.”
To provide the university with a lasting legacy, Lee founded the UBC Properties Trust in 1988, proposing market housing on campus, using 99-year leases based on U.K. and Hong Kong models. It was wildly successful.
Former University of British Columbia president Martha Piper called him Mr. UBC.
“I don’t know of any other Canadian university that has had one individual (with) such a vision for the university who wasn’t part of the administration.”
UBC’S current president, Santa Ono, said “Bob dedicated much of his life, expertise and resources to building a brighter future for British Columbians and Canadians, and he embodied the mission of UBC and its vision for its alumni.”
Robert Horne Lee was born in Vancouver on June 25, 1933. As a youth, Lee studied Cantonese after school, which would later pay off.
He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from UBC in 1956. After graduation, he joined the family import/export business.
Lee earned his real estate licence in 1959 and built a network among his family’s business associates.
His break came in 1964, when a Hong Kong businessman looking for a safe place to invest came to Vancouver and needed a broker who spoke Cantonese. Lee sold him a 263-unit building.
In 1966, he partnered with Peter Wall and Peter Redekop to co-found the Wall Financial Corp.
In 1979, Lee founded the development company Prospero International Realty. In 1984, he joined the UBC board of governors, and from 1993 to 1996 was UBC’S chancellor.
Lee was awarded the Order of B.C. in 1990 and the Order of Canada in 1999.
He is survived by his wife, Lily, and four adult children.