July 15, 2021
Sacramento, Calif. — Herbert Okay. Yee, D.D.S., a philanthropist and longtime chief in organized dentistry and dental training, died on June 26. He was 96.
 Dr. Yee |
Dr. Yee held many roles, together with serving on the ADA Council on Dental Training — now often called the Council on Dental Training and Licensure — from 1968-74, and as president of the California State Board of Dental Examiners and the Worldwide Faculty of Dentists.
As well as, Dr. Yee was a champion and lifelong supporter of the College of the Pacific and the Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty of Dentistry, the place he graduated in 1948 when it was referred to as the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons. He served within the faculty’s Board of Regents from 1972-2005.
“Dr. Yee’s greater than 30 years of service on the college’s Board of Regents is emblematic of his ardour for our alma mater,” mentioned Norman Allen, present chair of the Board of Regents, in a information launch. “His assist of Pacific and its college students, significantly at Dugoni, has made our college better and enriched the lives of numerous college students. We’re indebted to him for his service.”
Born within the Toishan, Guangdong Province of China in 1924, Dr. Yee immigrated to the U.S. at age 6 with this youthful brother and mom to affix their father, who was a civil engineering graduate of the College of Michigan. The household would settle in Sacramento.
Whereas attending Stanford College within the early Forties, Dr. Yee met and married his spouse, Inez. After dental faculty, he would return to Sacramento to open a dental apply the place he practiced for 54 years.
Based on his obituary, Dr. Yee additionally served because the dentist for the employees of two California governors, Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan, who appointed him to the California State Board of Dental Examiners.
As a member of the Board of Regents, Dr. Yee helped established a scholarship endowment for college students on the Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty of Dentistry. He additionally helped create a scholarship fund for college students of California State College, Sacramento, who’re accepted into U.S. dental faculties. As well as, he led the constructing of a faculty in his hometown in China and ensured scholarships had been accessible for high-achieving and need-based college students.
In 2018, for all of his service, the California Dental Affiliation Basis honored him with its Humanitarian Award.
“I’ve had an amazing quantity of accomplishments all through my lifetime,” Dr. Yee instructed the CDA Basis in 2018. “Being honored as this 12 months’s recipient means quite a bit to me as a result of I really like my occupation, and I’m completely satisfied to be acknowledged for all I’ve carried out.”
Dr. Lee is survived by his brother, Franklin Yee; sister, Carolee Lim; sons, Alan and H. Wesley; together with 9 grandchildren. A funeral service was held at East Garden Memorial Park on July 3, with a celebration of life to be held sooner or later. In lieu of flowers, the household suggests charitable donations to the Asian Neighborhood Middle of Sacramento Valley, Sutter Medical Basis, the California Museum and the California State Railroad Museum Basis.
