Choon Jin "Cj" Lee

Choon Jin “CJ” Lee, 49 of Carmel, Indiana, stepped from his body into God’s presence on Monday, January 24, 2022.  CJ was born February 7, 1972 in Malaysia to the late Chai Yen and Goh Xiu Yin and raised by his late grandmother Wan New Ng.  Funded by his late Uncle Chong Meng Goh, CJ immigrated to the US in 1994 and became a citizen on October 6, 2006.

Upon graduating from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, he headed, with his wife Ruth (surviving), to New York City to make his living in the photography industry.  With an eye for light and beauty, he established his own business, CJ Lee Photography, providing retouching services for commercial advertising and photographers as notable as world renowned Howard Schatz.

As his passion for beauty showed in his work, his love for life showed in his smile and humble, yet intelligent, sense of humor that put everyone around him at ease. A foodie at heart, he fed people with his 14-hour smoked finger-licking delicious brisket and planned family vacations around finding the yummiest morsels, from niu rou mian in Taiwan to barbecue in the Deep South.

His loving Aunt Yok Fong Lum survives him in Malaysia, and his cousins Yi Cheng Goh (husband Man Kwong Chan), Ying Chiu Goh, Ce Cin Goh (husband Loi Kai Seng), Zuo Bin Goh, and Xiao Yang Goh remember him as the big brother who took them, laughing, everywhere he went.  As a youth, CJ practiced making tea, studied Kung Fu and earned a gold metal as a sprinter at the state track meet in Malaysia.

CJ met Jesus in Bowling Green and his brothers and sisters in Christ became an important part of his life from his Chinese Bible Study in Grace Brethren Church of Bowling Green, to his dinner group with New Life Fellowship members in Queens NY, to hiking and playing badminton with his Orange County Chinese Christian Church friends in Monroe, New York.

CJ loved his wife Ruth passionately from the day they met in Bowling Green and cherished every moment with their three surviving children Mark, Patton and Kalinda.  They have inherited from him a taste for spicy food, a swiftness of foot, a love for learning and the discipline to play the violin.

Surviving relatives who will miss him include in-laws, Charles and Barbara Pfahler; brother-in-law, David (wife, Alicia) Pfahler, nieces Annalese and Ellie and brother-in-law Tim (wife, Britney) Pfahler, and nephews Tyler and Camden and many extended family members in Malaysia.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, February 5 at Flanner Buchanan-Carmel, where family and friends are invited to gather from 10:00 am until the time of the service.

To view the livestream of the service, please click here

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CJ in the words of his cousin Zuo Bin Goh (Ron)-

My name is Ron, and I am CJ’s cousin. In fact, my sisters and I, we used to call him “big brother” as he lived with us and we spent our childhood together as a family. CJ had a magical way of sharing his good sense of humour and bringing joy to everyone he met. For us, as his family, he showered us with lots of caring and love too. There were 5 of us following him everywhere – libraries, restaurants, parks, swimming, hiking, bookshops, tea-houses, McDonalds, cinemas, even when he was dating girls. And guess what, we haven’t heard one single complaint from him at all. He treated us as his brother and sisters and shared us everything he had – When there wasn’t much in his pocket, he bought us “Roti Canai” from the Indian shop or “McDonalds ice-cream cones”. When he had a little more, we got cheese burgers and big macs and we used to hope everyday was a burger day. When he left Malaysia for Uni, we used to check the mailbox every now and then to make sure we didn’t miss his letter from the other part of the world. When e-mail started to get popular, we got his pictures by e-mails – still remember we were excited when seeing his wedding photos on a computer. And, we shared lots of sweet memories together – the homework time, massages we did for him, blocking grandma’s way when she tried to grab him for punishments, the bicycle he bought us with his pay from the part time job, the electronic dictionary for us to learn English, the very first time we met Ruth, the holidays we spent together, of course those durian times, and many more… When we turning the pages together, we realized that you were something else – forever leading by example, maintaining dignity and decency to be an outstanding, action-packed accomplisher, and yet without losing your good sense of humour. Gor, we haven’t got a chance to say thank you for everything you did throughout the years – thank you for being you, big brother. We will miss you – your signature smile, your droll sense of humour, your loves to the family and the sweet memories that we built together…