Alice Gee's Obituary
Alice Chew Gee
January 21, 1930 – December 20, 2022
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas
Alice Chew Gee passed peacefully on December 20, 2022 at the age of 92. She was born on January 21, 1930 in Little Rock, Arkansas and was first born to John and Katie Chew. Her siblings were Robert Chew (deceased), Sarah Dailley (deceased) and Mary Chang. The family moved to Oakland in 1935.
Alice went to Lincoln Elementary and Oakland High School then went to Providence Hospital School of Nursing for her nursing degree. She worked at Highland Emergency and for many years for Drs. Alfred and Sadie Berkove on Oakland’s Pill Hill until she retired at age 49.
Alice met and married Tom Bing Gee in 1949. They had two daughters, Margaret (1962) and Marcia (1966). In 1976, Tom passed, leaving Alice as a single mother.
Alice was very driven and always worked very hard. She began working at age 14 and saved to buy her first car before she even had her driver’s license. At age 25, she purchased her first rental property on Monte Cresta Avenue. She spent many nights after work and most weekends working and gardening at the apartments. She purchased and sold many properties during her lifetime but kept Monte Cresta as it was truly her greatest accomplishment.
Alice loved to fish and even had a boat that she would take out on the bay and to the Sacramento Delta. Her vacations would always include fishing and even her wish for her 80th birthday was a family fishing trip to Alaska where she brought home over a hundred pounds of halibut that she caught with her grandsons.
Alice’s other love was for food. She had a longstanding tradition of baking butter cookies during the holidays. In her later years, she enjoyed cooking and trying new recipes with the latest gadgets that she could find. She also enjoyed dining out and trying new restaurants. She had quite a sweet tooth too and always had a pocket full of Werther’s candies wherever she went.
Alice lost her daughter, Margaret, to breast cancer in 2016. She is survived by her daughter, Marcia Gee Riley and her sons in law, Wayne Riley and Bruce Tran. She is also survived by her four grandsons: Austin and Julian Tran and Tommy and Jordan Riley.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 8th 2023 at 10am at Chapel of the Chimes 4499 Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA 94611.
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