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.
‘[M]y grandpa Ho Lem who was the first one here, married a woman from England – an Englishwoman – for his second marriage. I think it probably caused quite a stir.’
In this clip, Loretta Lee explains that though she knew her parents wanted her to marry a Chinese man, she believes they would not have minded had she married someone of a different ethnocultural background, given her family history of inter-racial marriage. Her paternal grandfather married a woman from England in the early 20th century.
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