Philanthropist Henrietta C. Lee, whose donations to the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center topped $25 million and established two endowed cancer research chairs and a breast cancer center, died in her sleep of natural causes on June 19. She was 94.

Peter Jones, director of the USC/Norris, praised Lee’s generosity as vital to the institution’s goals and called her “one of the most generous donors we have ever had.”

Jones said that Lee always remained involved and took personal pride in how she was able to make the lives of so many women better by her gifts: “She was so humble and always responded to a thank-you letter (for her donations) by writing back a card that said, ‘It is not you who should thank me, but I who should thank the Cancer Center.’

“She was an extraordinary philanthropist and a lady of great poise. We shall miss her greatly,” Jones said.

In 1997, Lee made a lead gift to establish the Harold E. and Henrietta C. Lee Breast Center, a 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research and treatment facility located on the first floor of the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital.

She also provided funding for two endowed chairs: the Harold E. Lee Chair in Cancer Research, held by Michael Press, professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and the Henrietta C. Lee Chair in Cancer Research, whose inaugural holder was Melvin J. Silverstein, professor of surgery at the Keck School.

In 2002, she made an additional pledge to the Norris Center to expand research and treatment focusing on diseases affecting women.

To continue her commitment to women’s cancer research, Lee made a gift to establish the Lee Women’s Health Center at the USC/Norris to create and advance the understanding and care of female-specific cancers and the ability to diagnose and treat by integrating patient care, research, prevention and education.

Henrietta Lee was born outside of Amsterdam and moved to the United States with her family at the age of 15, settling in Long Beach. She grew up working at her father’s dairy farm in nearby Cypress, milking and feeding cows and helping with the business.

There, she met Harold Lee, who would later become her husband. Harold Lee owned a construction company and specialized in construction work for dairy farms. After they were married, Henrietta Lee helped her husband’s sister, June, with the bookkeeping for the construction company. Their main office was in Garden Grove, and much of their building work was done in the Chino area.

After her husband’s death in 1990 and facing her niece’s fight against cancer, Henrietta Lee had a growing desire to help fight the disease.

She began with two $5,000 donations to USC to help people afflicted by cancer, she said, but wanted to do more. “I wanted to be involved in fighting cancer,” she said in an interview in 2002. And so the Harold E. and Henrietta C. Lee Breast Center was born.

Most of her previous work in supporting health care and medicine was in Orange County, where she served as treasurer for an annual golf tournament at Los Coyotes Country Club benefiting Children’s Hospital of Orange County.