Ellen Sohyang Lee

Portland-Ellen Lee died peacefully on November 17, 2023, at the age of 85. She was born Ellen Sohyang Kim on December 18, 1937, daughter of Mary Soondek Juhn and Daniel Taimook Kim. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in September 2022. Though caught early, her particular version of the blood cancer proved to be extremely aggressive and ultimately resistant to all treatments. Born in Taegu, South Korea, Ellen came to the U.S. with her family when she was 10 years old, first to Honolulu and then settling in the Washington, DC area in the early 1950’s. One of four siblings, she grew up singing in the choir of the first Korean Church in Washington, established by her father who was an ordained Presbyterian minister. After graduating from The George Washington University in 1959, Ellen married Henry F. Lee and moved to Philadelphia where he attended graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. She saw a social worker helping another person on TV and that piqued her interest. She obtained a degree in clinical social work from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 1963. She eventually went on to establish a private therapy practice. She became involved in the Korean adoptee community through her professional interest and personal connections and co-edited the book Once They Hear My Name in 2008. In later years, she studied nondual kabbalistic healing and spiritual awakening with A Society of Souls. Ellen was intrigued by human behavior and continually sought to deepen her understanding of her own and others’ experiences throughout her life. Ellen was an incredibly resilient person, weathering painful losses while maintaining a zest for life. Her first husband, Henry, was killed in a plane crash in 1976, leaving her a 37-year-old widow with three children between the ages of five and eleven. Ellen raised their children on her own and had to bear the devastating loss of Stephen, the middle child, to acute myeloid leukemia in 1992. Ellen remarried John Cunningham that same year but became widowed for a second time four years later when John died in a work accident. Despite these tragic losses, Ellen embraced beauty, laughed often and heartily, and shared her insights and compassion for others. She nurtured a lifelong love of choral singing through the Chancel Choir at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church, the Capitol Hill Chorale, and Berkshire Choral International. She was incredibly generous with her time and resources and cherished her family above all. She brought her children and grandchildren together for an annual summer beach week and organized recent family trips to South Korea and Hawaii. She is survived by her sister Carol Kim Retka (Robert L. Retka), her two children, H. M. “Mike” Marzano Lee (Julie Lee) and Laura K. Lee (Bradford Burnham), and her eight grandchildren, Austin Lee, Aaron Lee, Jeremy Lee, Jacob Lee, Jessica Lee, Henry Burnham, Eleanor Burnham, and Rin Burnham. She is also survived by her stepdaughter Anne Cunningham (Matthew Weiner) and her step-grandchildren, Johnny Cunningham and Ashton Cunningham. There will be a memorial service at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. Arrangements in Maine are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland, ME. To view Ellen’s memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to a nonprofit organization of your choice. Ellen was loved and admired by many. May her memory forever be a blessing to all who knew her.