The September 11th attack
Service Oct. 7 for terrorism victim Richard Y.C. Lee

Advertiser Staff

A memorial service will be held Oct. 7 for Richard Y.C. Lee, a managing director of equities at Cantor Fitzgerald's e-speed electronic trading division, who was on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center when he became one of more than 6,000 victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

Rich Lee played football at Yale and built toy chests for his young son. Advertiser library photo

Born on July 4, 1967, in Washington, D.C., Lee was raised in Hawai'i and was a 1986 graduate of Punahou School, where he excelled at academics, sports and music.

He went on to Yale University, where he majored in political science and graduated in 1991.

At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, the former football player was visibly strong, but his true strength lay in his intelligence, loyalty, determination and compassion, said his wife, Karen Lee.

"He was the best of us," said Rich Huff, his Yale football teammate and best man. "He shared nothing but the best with us, and be brought out the best in all of us."

As dedicated as Lee was to work, he also was devoted to his family and friends, especially his wife and young son, Karen Lee said. He would call and e-mail home a dozen times a day.

The walls of his office were papered with photographs of his 22-month-old son.

In their new home, Lee threw himself into woodworking, building toy chests and bookshelves for his son's playroom.

Rich Lee is the son of the late Ronald Lee Sr., a former business professor in Honolulu.

He is survived by his mother, Susan Yoshinaka, a retired Kalihi Elementary School principal who recently moved to New York; his brothers, Ronald "Buddy" Lee and Alex Lee, both of New York City, and his grandmother, Sueko, of Honolulu.

The memorial service is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Punahou School's Thurston Memorial Chapel.