Please Help the Lee-Kawanishi Family

Please help the Lee-Kawanishi family through an impossibly difficult time.

This GoFundMe campaign is to raise funds for Choony Lee, Toshi Kawanishi, and their daughters, Colette and Esme.

As you may have heard, Choony and Toshi’s 22-year-old beautiful son Connor chose to leave this earth on October 20. The family is grappling with this unbearable loss at a time when their burden is already so great.

Choony’s stage-IV colon cancer has traveled to her pelvis and lungs, and the family’s ongoing difficulties with securing employment have led to real financial instability. They need our support. Please join us in helping this proud, loving family get through this time with whatever you can offer.

Connor Jinui Lee-Kawanishi was devoted to making the world a kinder and more compassionate place. He recently returned home after four years in Syria, where he volunteered with the YPG helping the Kurdish people preserve their democratic government – the only one within that region that emphasizes equality.

Although Connor showed tremendous academic potential at a specialty school for highly gifted students (New York’s High School for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at City College), he chose to forgo college to volunteer and then work for Habitat for Humanity. Connor also lent his talents to the Four Corners School, working with Native American youth to rebuild and rehabilitate state park trails.

In addition to everything he generously gave to the world, Connor was a devoted son to Choony and Toshi and a loving brother to Colette and Esme. He will be profoundly missed.