U.S.

Xerox Hawaii Victims Mourned

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 2, 1999 / 2:15 PM EST / CBS

In a simple ceremony that made far more mention of how he lived than of how he died, Melvin Lee was remembered as a family man whose talents ranged from cooking to karate.

All seven victims shot to death were memorialized Sunday, reports CBS affiliate KGMB.

The Reverend Richard Matsushita at the Trinity United Methodist Church said his conversations with schoolchildren since Tuesday's shooting show him that even the youngest members of the community are affected by the tragedy.

During the service, grieving family and friends lit candles for their slain loved ones.

Reuters

Suspect Byran Uyesugi

A crowd of more than 1,000 overflowed from the Nuuanu Memorial Park chapel Sunday to remember Lee, 58. He was the first of seven men slain in Tuesday's Xerox Corp. shootings to be laid to rest.

"Sometimes, when someone such as Mel and six others are allowed to be killed, we wonder, 'Where is God?'" the Rev. Christopher Eng of Waipahu United Church of Christ told gatherers.

He urged mourners to find comfort in their faith and to celebrate Lee's life.

"Sometimes we have to go on living with the questions without any answers,"


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A field services manager and 32-year employee of the company, Lee supervised Byran Uyesugi, now charged with multiple murder counts in one of the nation's deadliest workplace shootings. He is being held on $7 million bail.

Others killed were Ron Kawamae, 54; Ron Kataoka, 50; Peter Mark, 46; Ford Kanehira, 41; John Sakamoto, 36; and Jason Balatico, 33. All were copier technicians, as was Uyesugi.

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Friends ticked off Lee's talents and passions, which included golf, karate, cooking, camping and fishing with his three children.

Longtime friend Malcolm Tam led his own family in singing "Aloha Oe" in a multipart harmony that brought both smiles and tears to faces in the crowd.

Coworker Marilyn Lee, no relation, eulogized Lee in the form of a letter to him.

"I could spend the entire day here talking about you and they still wouldn't know what a special person you were and how much you were loved by your Xrox family," she said.