I'm glad to have had Charlie and his family as my friends for over 40 years. Charlie once said: "If I was told that I was going to die tomorrow, I would say then lets have a good time today!" Charlie has taught us the lesson that we should live our lives to the fullest. I will miss him greatly. My family and I send our condolences.

We wish to offer our condolence to the Cheng family for the passing of Uncle Charles. Our beloved uncle has lived a great and productive life. He was still writing poems for a Chinese newspaper back in May this year. He will always be in our hearts. 
John, Carolyn, Catherine and James

Eulogy for Dad 

When Mom and Dad came to the United States, I was only four years old. When Dad got the job with BOAC we moved to New York into a one bedroom apartment in Queens. He would take the bus to the airport and back. I would always look forward to the time when I came back home to watch for the bus when Dad would come home. When my younger brother Richard was born we moved to a house in South Ozone Park and the bus stop would be right in front of our house. Dad would know the bus schedule and we would also to watch for the bus when he came back. 

He would always provide for us. He loved going to Chinatown on his day off but would always come back with groceries and special food for a great meal. At work, he would always call home during the day and I would always want to answer the phone. He was always gentle and never harsh with me. He was accepting of our mistakes and not demanding. He taught me without actually teaching; taught me to follow the rules without disciplining me. He supported my brothers and I for our education no matter how much it cost. 

Mom and Dad lived in Queens for over twenty years. I have fond memories of watching TV with Dad, backyard barbeques in the summer, family dinners at Thanksgivings and Christmases, graduations, weddings and births. One thing he loved was for us to take pictures during any family gathering. He would want pictures of the events and the trips we would take to Hong Kong almost every year to visit family. 

Dad loved family. He wanted to see family every time it was possible. He traveled with Mom to Asia, Europe, South America, Panama Canal, Alaska, Hawaii, and China. We took trips to Florida and amusement parks and always we would take pictures. But when his arthritis was worse and he got knee replacements, he was content to stay home as long as there was family around.
 
After Dad retired, he kept his interest and wrote Chinese poems up until last week. He would read the Chinese newspaper every day. He would be excited when his verses would be published in the Chinese newspaper and made sure I sent them to relatives. Dad kept up with the English news by watching CNN and was happy to write and receive cards and letters. He had an extraordinary memory for facts and especially telephone numbers. Dad rarely complained. He loved his family and he loved all his relatives and friends. 

I will always remember my Dad and love him for the life he lived for 95 years.

Dad’s Eulogy

Thank you all for coming to mourn the loss of my father and to celebrate his life.

Dad was a good and brave man.

Dad was not a good student but raised his children to be good students.

Dad was not a good driver but was still proud of his erratic driving skills.

Dad was clueless with money, but managed to support his children through college, graduate school, medical school and law school.

Dad almost always got lost in the New York subway system with his whole family in tow, but always found his way back home.

Dad was a loyal husband, father, brother grandfather and friend.   He believed in people based on the content of their character and not by their money or rank in society.

He was a witness and a participant in the transformation of China from its days as a young republic.  

Dad was born in Fuchow, China in 1915 and lived and traveled in Nanking, Shanghai and Beijing.  His father was a lawyer and a judge, and served as the attorney general in the new Republic of China before the Communist Revolution.  Dad studied in Japan as a college student, but returned to China to fight the Japanese and their colonization of China.  He served in the Nationalist Army under General Dai Li as an intelligence officer working along side U.S. naval intelligence   - - the Office of Strategic Services - - the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency.  As part of his training, Dad was sent to India and the U.S. during the Sino-Japanese war and World War II.  When he returned to China, he found himself fighting not only the Japanese colonialists but the Chinese Communists.  In one eventful night, his camp was overrun and he was captured by the Communists.  He managed to escape execution by sheer luck.  By the end of the World War he had risen to the rank of colonel.  With the rise of the Communist in China, he and most of his family moved to Taiwan.  His brother and sister remained in China, and they would be separated for many years afterwards.

In 1951, Dad married mom.  I was born in 1952 in Taipei, Taiwan.  Dad worked with an airline in Taiwan called China Air Transport.  He was sent by the airline to work in its  Tokyo, Japan office.  My brother Ed was born there.   In 1959, the family of four moved from Taiwan to the U.S. with little money in Dad’s pocket.  

Dad had the courage to spend his first dollar in San Francisco on a hair cut, determined to support his family even if it meant working in menial jobs at the start - - which he did.  He moved his family to New York City when he found a job with BOAC, now British Airways.  My brother Richard was born in New York in 1963.


Throughout his life, Dad was a lover of history, poetry and classical music.  Up to the end of his life, he still wrote poetry in Chinese with the help of his aid, Ms. Fan.  His poetry was published in the newspaper, and Dad saved all the clippings.

Up to the end, Dad’s mind was always clear and with all that he physically suffered from, he always was interested and asked how we all were doing.

I would like to thank those who helped mom and dad in the recent difficult years.  Thank you to my brother Richard and his wife Maggie for their help while mom and dad were in Foster City and in welcoming mom and dad into their home in San Diego.  Thank you to my brother Edward, his wife Sue Fong, and their son Wesley for visiting mom and dad while they were in California and taking care of them when mom and dad moved to Connecticut.  Thank you to my wife Meili, and our children Elise and Darren for supporting me and helping with mom and dad.  I would like to thank Ms. Fan for her loyalty, understanding and patience in taking care of mom and dad since they moved to Connecticut.

Dad’s lesson to me through our trips in the New York subway system is that you should walk ahead in life.  Even if you get lost at first, you will eventually find you way back home.

So Dad, you have walked ahead of us again in death, and I wish you a speedy journey back home.

Wu Yee Kuo,

I'll miss you the time that we visited  you in your Mountain View home. Most of all, we miss you...

Dad,
I'll miss you singing on Sunday mornings.
I'll miss cutting your hair.
I'll miss your sense of humor.
I'll miss your knowledge of life and the world.
I'll miss many things about you.
But  most of all I'll miss you.

OBITUARY

Mr. Charles Cheng

May 24, 1915 – June 27, 2010

Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home

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