Friends and Family Remember Ed Lee at His Seattle High School

People gathered once again on Saturday to honor the life of the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, this time in his hometown of Seattle.

Lee died earlier this month from a heart attack at the age of 65.

Two weeks ago, thousands jammed San Francisco City Hall to say goodbye to Lee in a public memorial service that featured speeches from Lee's two daughters, Tania and Brianna, as well as political leaders Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Gov. Jerry Brown and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, among others.

On Saturday, roughly 350 people gathered at Franklin High School in Seattle where Lee's family held another public memorial. Lee was born in Seattle to Chinese immigrants and graduated from Franklin High School in 1970.

Speakers at Saturday's memorial included Lee's daughters, relatives, friends and Gary Locke, the former U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Washington.

His sister, Linna Kitamura, said their upbringing in Seattle public housing shaped his policies as mayor.

“I think it set the tone for him to know that he wanted better lives for people,” she told KQED. “He collaborated a lot with the mayors in Seattle, and they shared ideas about how they could make each of the cities better."

All four of Lee's siblings and his mother still live in the Seattle area. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan tweeted her condolences when Lee died on Dec. 12.

Kitamura said Lee was unable to come back to Seattle this year for the annual golf tournament he held with his brothers, but he did make it back for Thanksgiving "which our family is very thankful for."

“Family was really important to Ed,” she said. “Even when he became mayor he always made time for family.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that Lee had not been back to Seattle this year. Lee was unable to attend an annual golf tournament in Seattle with his brothers, but he did visit the city for Thanksgiving.