Bee Lee

Bee Lee was born on May 3, 1939, in Nong Het, Laos, to Txoov Tub Lor and Mai Kawm Yang. She was the younger of their two daughters, with her older sister, Mee Lor, currently living in Luam Namtha, Laos. Bee spent her early years in Nong Het before moving to Xieng Khuang, where she met and married Los Som. Together, they had three children: Cher, Ntxoov Tub, and Mai Lor. Cher lives in Vientiane, Laos, with his wife and their five children, three sons and two daughters. Mai Lor remains in Laos with her seven children, two sons, and five daughters. Ntxoov Tub lives in Blaine, Minnesota, with his wife and four children, two sons and two daughters. Bee is survived by her three children, sixteen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

During the Vietnam War, Bee and Los Som were separated when he returned to China, leaving Bee to care for her elderly mother and raise their children alone. She and her son Ntxoov Tub moved to Nong Kai in 1975, then to Ban Vinai in 1976, and eventually immigrated to the United States on September 29, 1978, arriving in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In 1979, they moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where Bee lived the remainder of her life until her passing on June 26, 2025.

Bee was a loving and fiercely independent mother and grandmother. She always made sure her children and grandchildren were well cared for, providing for them with unwavering strength, even to those living far away in Laos. Her resilience was at the heart of everything she did, and her sacrifice will live on through the generations.