Anne Y. Chin

Anne was raised by her grandmother, as her mother passed away when she was young and her father was in America. She always stressed to her children the importance of having a good education. She herself, never finished school in China because of an arranged marriage interrupted her schooling. That marriage endured for 75 plus years.

She showed strength by taking the lone responsibility for our home and property in China when the rest of the family had left for Hong Kong and America. In time, she took her first son, Wu, to Hong Kong when he was about five years old, and never looked back.

She didn’t know a word of English when she arrived here, but through her determination and commitment to succeed in this new world of hers, she learned to speak the language and quickly engaged herself with the western culture. She adapted to overcome obstacles by forcing herself to learn to drive, operate new modern appliances, and even learned to use the smart phones. In addition to her expertise in working as a garment seamstress (down by the old Kingdome), she actually spent several months employed in building circuit boards in Silicon Valley when that technology was just growing.

As her equally heroic husband, Ying Ho Chin, was in the US Army for 20 years, Anne was a military mother having to often interact with new people as families moved about frequently. At times she was essentially a single mom when Dad was deployed for years in Vietnam and other military sites. She made sure we kids had a good normal life and took us to parks and exposed us to outside dining experiences. We would build make-shift tents in the backyard and learn to craft Chinese kites. As a caring and protective mother though, she’d prohibit us from playing sports that could “potentially harm us” – like tennis. As it happened, Herman had the audacity to injure his arm playing tennis to prove her worries!

Inquisitive and adventurous, our mother was anxious to explore. She and Dad took trips to see the world and traveled the country with their many friends. She took much delight in learning and tasting new foods from various nations and ethnicity.

Our mother had a passion for gardening. She would raise a prolific organic vegetable garden every summer. Neighbors would benefit from the bounties she’d share, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, melons, varieties of beans, figs, Chinese pears, and much more. She harvested seeds herself and germinated them, continuing the cycle of life. She had a green thumb; an expert at propagating her plants and distributing the off-shoots to friends and family. She loved her flower garden; they made her proud as she marveled at their beauty every spring and summer. She taught us so much, our master gardener.

Most of all that was dear to her heart was her family. She emphasized the importance of being close and often celebrating together as a family. Her wisdom, her morals and values were ingrained in us that we would do our own self-check; “Would Mommy approve, how would she feel about this or that?”

Our mother was a kind gentle soul; always thoughtful and gracious towards everyone. Her love of life, family, and friends ran deep. She lived a very long happy life, which fortunately gave us the rare opportunity to extend spending quality time with her. We will miss the joy of her smile and laugh. She will continue to live in our hearts and memories.

Anne is survived by her husband, Ying Ho Chin, children: Wu (wife Christina), Doris (husband Tim Ronan), Herman (wife Tammie Carlyle-Chin), and William (wife Kathy); grandchildren: Melanie and Timothy Chin (wife Jennifer), Katherine and Allison Chin; Andy, Sonya, and Adam Chin, great grandchildren: Marcus and Calvin Chin.

Thank you all for coming to help celebrate her life.

The Chin Family