Rose Gee

Rose Wong Gee was born in Fargo, North Dakota to Gilbert and Dongshee Wong on October 1, 1925, the third child and second daughter of seven children. At the age of 7 she moved to the county of Toi San in China with her family, returning later to the United States as a young woman. In 1947 she married Tom Gee and was his dedicated and caring wife for almost 49 years. Together with him, she raised three children and worked long hours in the grocery business. She died in Sacramento on January 16, 2023.
Rose and Tom ran Tom’s Food Market in Itta Bena, Mississippi for many years from the early 1960s until the mid-1980s and before that owned and operated a grocery store in Fargo. Rose’s first experience in the grocery business was working with her husband and his father and stepmother in a family-owned grocery store in Sumner, Mississippi.
In spite of working long hours at the Itta Bena market, Rose was a prolific gardener, and many vegetables flourished in her back yard. She also always enjoyed the color that her red azaleas brought to the yard.   
She was a good cook, learning to skillfully make roast beef, Chinese roast duck, and many other dishes, usually in the simple kitchen behind the grocery store. She enjoyed baking and sharing her homemade pecan pies with others.
Rose embraced the Christian faith as a young woman in Fargo. In Itta Bena, she was a member of the former First United Methodist Church with Tom. Some years later, she attended the First Baptist Church regularly, where she looked forward to eating catfish at “Over 60’s” meetings and enjoyed being part of a women’s group. 
Because English was not her native language, Rose continually applied herself to bettering her English, trying to learn to prounounce and spell new words and improve her vocabulary. 
In her latter years, Rose lived in Tucson and then in Sacramento with family. 
She is survived by children Paul Gee (Tucson, Arizona), Betty Wong (Sacramento, California), John Gee (Houston, Texas), and spouses. She is also survived by grandsons Benjamin Gee (southern California) and Jonathan Gee (Itta Bena, Mississippi). In addition, she is survived by sisters Pearl Joe (Vacaville, California) and June Dong (Sacramento, California) and brothers Lem Wong (Rancho Palos Verdes, California) and Don Wong (Calgary, Alberta, Canada). She was predeceased by brothers Ted Wong (St. Paul, Minnesota) and Billy Wong (Fargo, North Dakota). She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a memorial gift to the charity of your choice in memory of Rose Wong Gee.