Sou Ngan Cheung 張余修顏

Born in the city of Canton, China, on September 3, 1924, Sou Ngan was the eldest child of Lieu Ho (mother) and Fong Lok (father) Yu. Despite growing up at a time when families dismissed the formal education of daughters, she received an education and became a member of the graduating class of the Changsha Teacher Training College (1943). Her plans to teach was set aside when she married Bon Cheung (1942) and transitioned into the rural life of Chungyick Village. Soon after, she became the mother of son, Guy, and daughter, Juliana. Faced with the increasing instability of both international and domestic wars, Sou Ngan, along with the extended Cheung family, left China and resettled briefly in Macau (1950). During this time, she became the mother of her third child, Brian. While caring for these three children, with the help of sisters-in-law, the extended Cheung family moved, once again, this time, to Hong Kong (1951). Faced with greater stability, following a time of political upheaval and personal dislocation, Sou Ngan settled into the life of a mother with the births of son, Flint and daughters, Diana, Margaret, Anna and Donna.

At the age of 45 years, Sou Ngan, along with her husband and seven children, immigrated to the U.S. (1970). In the U.S., she adjusted to a new life with the help of her sisters-and brothers-in-laws from the Chang, Yee and Chan families. She finally felt re-assured when her eldest son, Guy, rejoined the family in the U.S., a few years later.

In this second chapter of her life, Sou Ngan celebrated many graduations, birthdays and marriages of her children and nephews and nieces. She continued her love of reading and delighted at becoming a grandmother to Kristen and Joyce (Cheung), Gary, Keith and Wayne (Hum), Dawn and Deanna (Cheung), Sam and Clarice (Cheung), and Daniel and Andrew (Geisel) and a great-grandmother to Kathryn and Jeffrey (Hum). In her latter years, she maintained a strict schedule of morning Buddhist prayers, hoping such devotion would translate into good fortune for her children and grandchildren and the world we lived in. Well into her eighties, Sou Ngan was able to perform the traditional prayer ritual of meeting her forehead to the ground. After the death of her husband, Bon (2002), she found a new pace of life for herself, even while new health challenges emerged. Despite such setbacks, her family gathered to celebrate her 90th and 92nd birthdays. In recent years, she often mentioned her good fortune in having three daughters (Diana, Margaret and Donna) who looked after her and having half of her children nearby.

On February 19, 2018, Sou Ngan Cheung passed away quietly in her sleep.

And yes, we miss her.