Dee was born on November 23, 1930, to a middle-class
Chinese Filipino family who owned a lumberyard and was raised in
Tondo, Manila. His paternal ancestor Dy Phi-Phay first immigrated from China to Manila in the late 18th century and he was the nephew of Dee C. Chuan that founded
Chinabank. Howard Dee’s father was Dee Hong Lue, a lumber tycoon and younger brother of Dee C. Chuan. Another uncle was Dee K. Chiong, former Chairman of Chinabank and grandfather of
Miss Universe finalist
Michelle Dee. He graduated from
San Beda High School in 1946 and received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Philippine College of Commerce and Business Administration, now the
University of the East, in 1951. He also took up a master of arts in economics from the same university but left in 1953 to join the pharmaceutical firm
Unilab. ==Career==