Lee, Loretta
Loretta Lee’s family history in Canada dates back more than a century. Both her paternal and maternal grandmothers arrived in Calgary, Alberta, in the early 1900s as two of the first Chinese women to arrive in the city. Loretta’s mother, Nellie Ho Lem, was very active in her community as a member of the United Church and the Lady Laurier Club, a women’s organization for the Liberal Party. Loretta grew up in Calgary and in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, where the family lived for a number of years. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Loretta has actively pursued community work and has been a volunteer with the Sien Lok Society in Calgary since its inception.
In part six of a seven-part interview, Loretta Lee talks about her community involvement and the changing roles of women in society. Loretta Lee is a longstanding member of the Sien Lok Society of Calgary, Alberta, and she explains their success in preventing the destruction of Calgary’s Chinatown and describes their annual fundraising banquet. Loretta talks about her political involvement, and links it back to her family’s history of community-mindedness. Loretta makes it clear that her community interests never interfered with her role as a mother. She concludes by talking about the increased representation of women from all ethnocultural backgrounds in the workforce.
/ 
