Matthew Yee ’82

Matthew Yee ’82 died December 2, 2023, after a tenacious battle with liver cancer. He was born April 11, 1959, in Honolulu and attended the Punahou School. At Dartmouth Matt was a policy studies major and participated in Glee Club, Eleazor’s Dungeon, Asian American Association, Mid-Mass Debators, and a language study abroad in Blois, France. After Penn Law Matt practiced in Hawaii, but music called and his desire to live honestly persuaded him to come out. In 1994 he met Paul Hannigan and they married in 2013. For 20 years Matt performed his enormously popular Outrageous Adult Sing Along Show on cruise ships until his diagnosis in November 2022; thereafter he shared his cancer journey with frankness, humor, and “Chinese joy.” Sean Burke ’82 said, “Matt loved breaking rules. His nightclub act was joyously irreverent. In late 2023 he was told to take it easy, recover gently. No: Matt went clubbing in Sydney, Australia, and gambling in Vegas.” Gail Sullivan ’82 said, “Matt loved everyone willing to share time and a laugh and I am so grateful for that. There is no one like him.” John King ’82 shared, “Matt wrote a title song for his Mattaio Band album—‘True Love Conquers All.’ He lived that song for decades. Matt deeply loved Paul, his friends, traveling the world, challenging people and ideas, being a stage diva, and singing his heart out.” Matt’s mother and father, Bay Yee ’53, predeceased him. He is survived by Paul and brothers Terry ’84, Bob ’88, and Patrick and their families.