On her last day at work, however, coworkers remembered Regina’s soft voice and quiet giggling were replaced by a cough that got more noticeable throughout the day. While she rarely offered details about her personal life, she loved to organize office potlucks and celebrate colleagues’ birthdays to bring workers out of their cubicles. Having worked there for 20 years, she interacted at one point with almost everyone in the office, whether it was sharing a vanpool or leaving them surprise chocolates while they were away. “Both took care of my mom, and there was nothing for her to worry about.”Īt Costco Travel, Regina was an institution. “Regina was a fun-loving person, who liked to joke around, while Willa was the serious middle child,” Raymond recalled. She told her family it was a good, stable job, allowing her to provide for her mother, who was by then widowed, and with whom she and her older sister, Willa, lived in Everett, Washington. Instead, she worked as a travel agent and eventually joined Costco Travel, which the wholesaler started in 2000. While two of her elder siblings attended the University of Washington, Regina went to beautician school, but never finished.
The kids worked there while attending college. Around that time, her parents opened New Gallery Garden Restaurant, a gathering spot for Asian American teens that served burgers and steaks and hosted local musicians. The family settled in the Seattle area, and the children went to Franklin High School, from which Regina graduated in 1979. Raymond, the second oldest, recalled a blue-collar upbringing. They had four children, with Regina being the youngest. Her father, Albert Chin Lee, an immigrant from China’s Guangdong province, served in the US Army and later brought over his spouse, Susie, upon completing his service. “COVID-19 took a toll on my family,” Raymond told BuzzFeed News in April. By the end of the month, Willa, 60, and Susie, 82, would also die from complications associated with the coronavirus, likely having contracted the disease from Regina. For some of her colleagues, her death made them aware of their expendability to Costco, and how little their employer did to protect them in the early days of the pandemic.įor Raymond Lee, one of Regina’s two surviving brothers, her death marked a tragic beginning. Regina was the first known Costco employee - and one of the first people in the US - to die of the virus. She died on Monday, March 16, from COVID-19. They worried about their 59-year-old colleague, who had diabetes and whose symptoms were so obvious that she had to be checked by a supervisor. Its CEO Craig Jelinek decided that if retail workers still had to work in stores, corporate employees should continue to work from their desks.Ĭostco employees who spoke with BuzzFeed News in April remembered Regina’s incessant cough on her last day in the office. Despite being within King County - the country’s first known coronavirus hot spot - Costco’s headquarters and its travel office remained open. Regina came into the office, which Costco had refused to close. Other callers hunted for bargains, hoping to take advantage of the swirling fear to book their next getaway. Some wanted to cancel their travel completely, horrified by broadcast news stories of cruise passengers forced to quarantine for weeks aboard what became floating metal prisons.
It was March 14, and while it wouldn’t typically be busy, a flood of calls hit the travel center from those worried about a lesser-known disease called COVID-19. Colleagues remembered her as a team player, who would always take their shift if they needed to switch or pitch in if extra help was needed. As a Costco Travel agent, she spent hours on the phone every day booking cruises, finding deals, and making arrangements at the vacation arm of the retail giant. She and her older sister, Willa Lim Lee, had just paid off the Everett, Washington, home they shared with their mother, Susie Lee, and were planning the travel that they hoped would fill the rest of their lives.įor the better part of two decades, mapping out trips was something Regina did for others. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Incoming. The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus.
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