Rodney Ray Yee's Obituary
Rodney Ray Yee, or “Roddy”, was born in Honolulu on May 14, 1942 and lived near the Ala Wai canal in Waikiki with his family. His parents also owned a beachfront home in Kaaawa near Kualoa Ranch on the Windward side of Oahu. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1960, attended University of Hawaii, and was a member of US Army Reserve.
In 1965, He moved to San Francisco Bay Area --- married his wife, Tomoko, while living in San Francisco. He purchased a home in Millbrae for 7 years, and then Hillsborough for 25 years. In 2001, Rodney and Tomoko moved back to Honolulu to retire settling in Waialae Iki Ridge.
As a tall Chinese businessman, with a low soothing voice and a gift of gab, he charmed customers and tuned them into friends/ repeat customers because of his unique ability to fit each individual and make them look good in suits. Many athletes, newscasters, movie stars, chefs, King of Tonga, and television personalities were outfitted by him. As a buyer, he selected stylish fashions cuts that were in vogue as well as attractive color combinations by matching shirts, ties, shoes and suits for each season. As a buyer, he would sit for hours feeling fabric sample swatches while watching football or basketball at home. Using sense of touch without even looking at the fabric, he would sort out what he wanted by fabric weight. Then he looked at good color coordination to put together his orders for clothing to be made by manufacturers for his stores to sell. He could visualize the whole outfit by just swatches of fabric! Rodney climbed from salesman to President running a chain of Big and Tall clothing stores in a short period of time. Rodney became President of Howards Clothing, San Francisco, VP of Rochester Big and Tall Men’s clothing, San Francisco, and joint owner of ROJAN selling men’s natural jewelry made by his wife Tomoko during late 1970’s.
Rodney Yee was a father, husband, brother, comedian; and, he possessed a gift of hearing and a gift of touch. He had perfect pitch. Rodney could turn into a good musician playing several instruments-- his favorite instruments were piano and ukulele. He could hear a song and would immediately begin to figure out how to play it by ear, and did so quite well. He did not learn to read music until later in life. Rodney would mimic bird calls while playing piano. Wild birds were constantly at the window looking for him. He said because he was born with poor eyesight, his hearing and sense of touch developed acutely.
He was a great father and mentor to his loving daughter, Michele.
Rodney was the son of Cyril, Pinky Yee and grandson of Yee Mun Wai, a financier from Toy Sun (Taishen), Guandong, China who immigrated to Hawaii in 1890 at the age of 15 and became a very successful businessman.
His mother was Alyce Ako, one of 13 children; and, his grandfather was Ching Ako. Rodney’s great grandfather, Duk Apui Ching, is a Ching family descendant of the Yellow Emperor, and relatives who were masters of high Kung Fu. They immigrated from Zhongshan, China in 1860’s and resided in Waimea, Kauai.
Rodney had a younger brother Randy, and is survived by two older sisters, Carole and Karen.
Rodney was full of life, and enjoyed his life 100%. He was a happy person who loved to entertain and make people laugh. Rodney would want to be remembered by his friends and family in that way. In 2015, Rodney had stem cell transplant for leukemia at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Stem cell transplant from a 42 year old female blood match was successful; however, his immune system was weakened by chemotherapy, irradiation and strong prescription drugs. After 2.5 years of being in and out of hospitals, fighting multiple recurring infections with a weak immune system, he passed away peacefully at Kalakaua Gardens on Nov 14, 2017.
He is survived by his wife, Tomoko J Yee; daughter, Michele (Mika) Yee Simpson, Tony Simpson, and grandson, Alex Simpson. Sister, Karen Arab, nephew, Allan Crooks and family, sister, Carole Ching and family, niece, Francine Hughes and family, nephew, Eric Lum and family, and nephews, Terry and Trevor Yee with their families.
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