Rev. Dr. Kwan Y. Lee

Houlton - The Rev. Dr. Kwan Y. Lee, 94, departed peacefully to heaven on December 22, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on February 11, 1931, to Hong-Yeul Lee (father) and Soon Ae Yoo (mother) in Baekchon, Korea.
Raised from childhood in a strong Christian family, he lived his life in service to God and was faithful to the Lord's call to the very end. During the Korean War, Kwan was conscripted by the South Korean military. As he was the only troop member in his unit who could speak and read English, he was assigned to the 9th Division headquarters of the U.S. military. Throughout his service, he led weekly hymn singing and bible study for soldiers facing the cruelties of war. After the 1953 signing of the Armistice agreement, Kwan was among the first to be honorably discharged. His service to the U.S. military led to his studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
As an undergraduate student at Nebraska Wesleyan, on his way to church where he was to sing a solo, he was in a devastating, near fatal car accident. After a long coma, he found himself completely paralyzed from the waist down. Through his incredible faith in God and perseverance, Kwan gradually regained the use of his legs, becoming a living testament to what the doctors called a "medical miracle." He eventually returned to school and completed his bachelor's degree in philosophy. He went on to Boston University (BU), where he earned his masters and Doctor of Ministry degrees and was ordained into the United Methodist Church.
Rev. Lee began his ministry in Maine as a student pastor at the East Eliot United Methodist Church. He married Kum Hwa when they were both BU graduate students and they started a family. Upon graduation, he was assigned to two churches, in Brownville Junction and Milo, for his first full-time pastoral charge, soon adding a third church in Brownville. He was next assigned to Houlton, where he moved with his wife and three young children. Rev. Lee's next church assignment returned him to Eliot, where he grew a large congregation. Under his leadership, a vacant 7-acre lot was purchased as the site for a new church building and parsonage which were built from the ground up. UMC Bishop Bashore officiated the mortgage burning ceremony and mentioned that no church, in his recollection, had ever fully paid off a mortgage in only three years. Located on a visible and centrally located lot on Rt. 236, the new church accommodated the merging of the South Eliot and East Eliot United Methodist Churches.
Rev. Lee was next assigned to the Wakefield-Lynnfield UMC in Massachusetts, and from there, he was appointed District Superintendent (DS) of the Metropolitan Boston North District of the United Methodist Church. He was the first Asian-American DS in the New England Conference. After retiring from active ministry, he served as a part-time pastor in Newburyport, MA, and Raymond, NH, before returning to Maine to serve as a part-time retired pastor in Patten and Greenville Junction. He retired for a second time at the age of 75.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his wife, Kum (1995).
His family gives profound thanks and praise to God for his life, ministry, vibrant singing, his loving presence, and the faithful, lifelong service he gave to the church and all whose lives he touched.
A memorial service will be held Friday, May 15, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Houlton United Methodist Church, 57 Military St., Houlton, ME with the Rev. Victor Han officiating, followed by conversation and refreshments in the Fellowship Hall. The interment will be held at Brooks Memorial Cemetery in Eliot, ME, on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 1 p.m. Donations in memory of Rev. Lee are welcomed at Houlton United Methodist Church, 57 Military St., Houlton, ME 04730 or to the Preachers Aid Society in honor of the Rev. Kwan Y. Lee and Mrs. Kum H. Lee, 51 Charles Wesley Ct., Wells, ME 04090. To share condolences and memories online, please visit dunnfuneral.com.