Kee Chong Lee Family

Kee Chong Lee

Kee Chong Lee came to Canada in 1895 from Guongdong Province, China after paying the $50.00 head tax. He moved to Windsor around 1897 to open the Lee Chong Laundry. Based on the 1901 census, Kee Chong Lee was one among the earliest Chinese settlers in Windsor. In 1918 his fourteen year old son Sit Yuen Lee came to Canada and took over the laundry business. The store was moved from 994 Masonville to 1026 Drouillard Road in October 1956. At the time the Drouillard Road area, called Ford City, was an important business center.

After his father’s death, Sit Yuen Lee continued to operate the laundry by himself. With the advance of the modern Laundromat the old style laundries were phasing out. According to a special report by the Windsor Star, Lee Chong Laundry was the last hand laundry in 1976. Sit Yuen Lee retired in 1985 at the age of 82, ending a 90 year history of the Lee Chong Laundry in Windsor He passed away in 1998 at age 95 and is survived by his wife, two sons - Ying Hung and Victor - and three daughters: Betty, Pauline and Alaine.