Shu-Ching Chen, aged 101, of Saratoga, California passed away on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Shu-Ching was born August 21, 1920 in Linson County, China. Her father was Zun Tong Chen and her mother's family name was Liu. She had one younger brother and one younger sister. Our mother was beautiful, intelligent, diligent and lively ever since she was a child. During her studies, she was always among the best.
In the 1930's, the Japanese army invaded China. A woman of conviction, our mother participated in the "Little Theater Troupe" at school, performing tours in the urban area, to persuade business users to unite and boycott Japanese products.
In the 1940's, she married our father Chou-Chen Chen. In the next few years, she moved around as our father served in the military. With an interest in new challenges, our mother began teaching in Fuzhou Primary School with the support of our father. After that time, our eldest brother Robert was born; the war with Japan was won and our father was sent to Taiwan to help the government repossess it. Our mother then brought her brother to Taiwan and resumed her work as a civil servant. Our grandmother and uncle also moved to Taiwan one after the other.
Soon after, our father left the military and our mother transferred to the Taiwan Fertilizer Company, where she earned a decent living and made many friends. Settling down in this new stage of life, she later had three more children: Ingrid, Jo, and David. Though life was busy, our mother had a fulfilling life as a professional woman. While other mothers did not go to work, our mother was always busy at work and at home!
It was only later that I got to know the sacrifices of our mother and how strong she had to be. Because of the war and family responsibilities, she could not complete her education, which limited her promotion opportunities at work. Undeterred, this caused her to work harder still.
In the late 1960's, Robert and the daughters came to the United States to study, one after the other. Our parents originally came to the United States to help take care of their children and grandchildren for a short period of time. After all four children settled in the U.S., our father retired from his job and permanently moved to the States to help take care of his grandchildren full-time. Though traveling between the U.S. and Taiwan, our mother kept her job position in Taipei. But when our father became ill in 1977, she quit her longtime job at Taiwan Fertilizer company and moved to the States to take care of her husband.
In the U.S. our parents lived with Robert and his wife Theresa, hoping to settle in their own place nearby. Our father died in 1980, and with his death our mother also gave up the idea of moving into a separate place. In the next twelve years, Jo passed away and then Robert, exacting unimaginable pain for a mother to see he own children depart this life before her own.
When Robert passed away in 1992, our mother moved to live with David and his wife Susie for the last 30 years of her life. Despite the losses, she stood strong and focused on nurturing her grandchildren. With Robert gone, she helped look after his younger son, who was in junior high. Despite limited English and not being able to drive, she sacrificially gave herself to the upbringing and good of her grandchildren.
Our mother's father and eldest son Robert were devout Christians. Our mother surrendered her life to Christ and was baptized at age 63. Going to church was a big part of her life, and reading the Bible was her daily devotion. The Chinese for Christ Church in San Jose was her second family. She often shared her experiences of God's grace from the pastors and sisters of the church. Even as old age and the pandemic made in-person church gatherings impossible, she still attended Bible studies through Zoom and looked forward to the appearing of the glory of her great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Each of our mother's birthdays became an opportunity for the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to gather and celebrate the life of an amazing woman. In 2020, when our mother turned 100, we tried to have an in-person birthday party but had to convert to an online celebration.
In the summer of 2021, when the pandemic slowed down a bit, the grandchildren finally organized an in-person gathering in David's backyard, where we had a big family birthday party to celebrate our mother's 101st birthday! At the time she had 11 great grandchildren. Not all family members could attend because of pandemic travel restrictions. Nonetheless, by the grace of God and a little help from Zoom, we were able to gather as one family happily to mark a rare milestone in the life of our dear mother. In the spring of 2022, the seven grandchildren began preparing for her 102nd birthday party to be held at the end of August. Unexpectedly, our plans were halted.
In the early morning on July 30th, our mother passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her abrupt departure was like how she lived her life, giving all her energy and love to her children and grandchildren, never burdening them with troubles or difficulties. Though her body was weakened by age, she remained remarkably healthy, taking good care of herself and avoiding any encumbrance on the rest of the family. Indeed our children and grandchildren are blessed to have received her love and care.
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