11/25/13 Dear family and friends, It is hard to believe that a year ago Dick/ In Heung / dad passed from this life to be with God. We thank you for your love and support which has been a great comfort to us. We miss him dearly and our grief feels very sharp at times. Sadness washes over us like the waves of an ocean and we hope that over time, we can float on it more smoothly. We have returned to Oahu, Hawaii where we scattered his ashes last January in the Pacific Ocean a few miles from Diamond Head and Waikiki. He picked the Pacific Ocean because it connects Asia and the United States, his two homes. We chose Hawaii because we have many happy memories here from family vacations where he was relaxed and happy - eating fresh seafood, the delicious tropical fruit, and macadamia nut ice cream. He was often mistaken for a local or a paniolo, Hawaiian cowboy, with his island tan, straw cowboy hat and friendly smile. Hawaii is also breathtakingly beautiful and lush in natural beauty - when we laid him to rest in the sea, the brightest double rainbows appeared by our sailboat and we knew in our hearts that he was sending us his love. As we remember him especially during this one year mark, you are welcome to upload pictures and/or memories to this memorial page May God bless you and your family with much joy and love this year. - Julie, Betty & Peggy * * * 12/3/12 Eulogy for My Father By Betty Chung Thank you for being here today to mourn the passing of my father, to remember happy times with him, and to celebrate his life. My father was an extraordinary man who lived a very full and interesting 74 years. He was fiercely loyal to his family, a hard working Korean immigrant and a patriotic American. He was born on July 24, 1938 in Ham Hung, a city now located in North Korea. His father was a medical doctor with a clinic in Sun Chun, a Christian town in the northern province of Pyung An. Dad had wonderful memories of visiting his grandmother whom he loved and respected very much. He remembers one day at school his teacher had been replaced by a Communist teacher who said there was no God. He stood up and said "you are not right, there is a God." He and his sister were promptly expelled from school. My grandfather knew that because they were Christian, educated, and owned land that it was only a matter of time before the family would be persecuted and probably separated. At the age of 10 and in the middle of the night, my father escaped with his father, 8 month old pregnant mother, and 4 sisters to South Korea on a sailboat. He remembered being very quiet as they passed patrol boats on the border and because the journey took longer than planned, he vividly remembered being hungry and stopping by an island where he helped collect seagull eggs to eat. He said his family would survive or perish together, that they had left their destiny to God. God's destiny for the Chungs was that 16 days later, they sailed into the Han River and to freedom. Dad then grew up in the southern port city of Pusan and the capitol city of Seoul. He loved baseball and all things American because of the U.S. food aid and development assistance to Korea after the devastation of the Korean War. When he first tasted a Hershey milk chocolate bar, the thought - wow, America must be a sweet land. After a semester at Yonsei University and serving his mandatory Korean military duty in the Army, he came to the United States as an international student at Oregon State University. He lived with the Irelands, an American sponsor family and he mentioned how quickly he had to adapt to American customs. For his first American meal, Mrs. Ireland had cooked a large plate of pork chops. Everyone took one small pork chop and when Mrs. Ireland asked my dad if he would like another one, he refused. She asked again and he said no thank you. My dad was waiting to be asked one more time since he was taught to refuse three times before accepting something or it would appear rude. She never asked again and he went to bed with only a small pork chop in his stomach. At the next meal, when Mrs. Ireland asked him if he wanted seconds, he immediately said YES please! Dad graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Food Science. He often told me that though his father wanted him to be a medical doctor, he chose food science because everyone has to eat so there would always be a job in the food industry. His first job was with the Green Giant Company which was later bought by the Pillsbury Company. He worked there as a loyal employee for 25 years. He made a lot of amazing friends in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and the United States. Though many more wanted to come, I want to especially thank Uncle Freddy and Uncle Paul from Taiwan, Julia from Hong Kong and Mr. Yun from Korea for flying all this way to support us and represent his friends from Asia. My father achieved the American dream. He came to this country with only $400 in his pocket, a willingness to work hard, and a hope that these things were enough in America to achieve a better life for his family. He worked himself up from an entry level position at Green Giant and retired from Pillsbury as Vice President for the Asia Pacific region. In the beginning of his career, my father's job required him to travel all over Asia but he never flew Korean Airlines. The North Koreans had hijacked their planes and the passengers were never seen again. He was afraid that if he was ever on a hijacked plane, they would find out he had escaped from North Korea and torture and kill him. One day when he was in Seoul, he passed by a Korean Airlines office and felt a pang of guilt for never flying his national airline. He walked in and switched an existing ticket to a Korean Airlines flight. My mother was a stewardess on that flight. It was love at first sight. He talked to other crew members and found out they were flying on to Hong Kong but would be back in Taipei the next day. He invited the entire flight crew for a Chinese dinner the following night and made sure my mother sat right next to him. The next day she received 112 red roses, 100 in vases and 12 in a box. She had a flight that day so she could only keep the 12 roses and was teased by all her friends at customs. They met every week in Seoul or Taipei and two months later, were married. My sister and I were born in Taipei and Taichung, Taiwan and then grew up in the small Midwest town of Le Sueur, Minnesota where we became American citizens. While Peggy and I enjoyed building snow forts and selling Girl Scout cookies, mom adapted to American culture and dad would travel to Asia for months at a time. He would always bring back cool gifts from his trips with the latest cutting edge technology from Asia like the first Sony Walkman or Tai Yang Bing, our favorite sweet dessert from Taiwan. Those gifts always made us feel that he thought of us when he was away. Though Asian culture traditionally value sons over daughters, he always told us how much he loved us, that we were very special to him, and he was lucky to have daughters. My family also lived in Seoul, Korea and Hong Kong. Dad retired from the Pillsbury Company in 1990 and started his own international food trade consulting business. My parents moved to Seattle, Washington and spent winters in Palm Springs. They permanently retired to Arizona in 2002. My dad had always been physically and mentally strong - he was a self-taught golfer with 16 handicap, loved fishing, and traveled all over the world. He always looked beyond a person's outward appearance and valued the hard working, sincere, warm and courageous spirit of a person. During a trip to Seoul, his friend Dr. Park noticed his skin color seemed strange and asked him to come to his medical office the next day to do some tests. That was the beginning of 9 years of highs and lows with his health. He was diagnosed with liver cancer and was extremely lucky to receive a liver transplant after only a six month wait. Over the next years he had hip, knee, and back surgery, he caught tuberculosis and just when he was feeling better, this September we found out that he had lung cancer due to his over 30 years of smoking. In mid-October, he was recovering from lung surgery when we were told cancer cells had spread to his brain. Through all these trials, my dad maintained a positive attitude and always hoped to restore his health. When I saw him two weeks before he passed, the diagnosis was that he would live 6 months to a year. He was really looking forward to spending quality time with his family and friends over a delicious meal one last time. In the last week of his life, he caught pneumonia and his health went rapidly downhill. The last night in the hospital he was struggling physically and mentally. Just when he felt he could not rely on God to help him through, he saw what he described as a tall old Caucasian preacher. My dad told him how difficult it was for him and that he wanted to go. The preacher looked him straight in the eye, nodded his head and said "We understand." My father was instantly relieved and felt happy. My mom and sister were with him the entire time and verified with the nurses that there was no such visitor. We believe dad was visited by Jesus or an angel at his darkest hour of need. The next day he was transferred to hospice care at home and he died peacefully with my mother and sister by his side on Sunday evening, 7:30 pm MST on Nov. 25th. I was on my way and during a layover in Chicago, was blessed with a chance to talk to him 30 minutes before he passed. I told him that if God sent an angel to take him home before I was able to get there, to please go with the angel and not worry about us. We would take care of each other and we would see him again in heaven, this was not a final goodbye. I sang the hymn that we sang earlier, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and told him we loved him. He would be the first to tell you that he's never considered himself a religious man but especially in the last years of his life, he sought to know Jesus and had a personal relationship with God. Dad exhibited all the fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Two weeks before he passed, I had a great conversation with my dad and though we thought we had weeks or months together, we discussed his funeral and the fact that I would give his eulogy. I asked him to think of what he would like me to say and let me know later. Though we didn't have that conversation, I know that he would have liked me to thank you all for your wonderful friendship and love over the years, to tell you how honored he is that you made the time and effort to be here today, and to share with you these final thoughts: 1. Please don't smoke or keep trying to quit. 2. Please consider organ donation. A 28 year old man in Tucson, Arizona died in a car accident and gave my dad 9 extra years of life and blessed several other people who were also waiting for a life saving organ. 3. Please live your life to the fullest. Seize the day and don't put off that dream vacation or a visit to a family or friend. My dad always said there was a time to think and plan, but at some point you have to be bold and take action - just do it. 4. Don't focus on the regrets or mistakes of the past, keep your eyes on the positive opportunities of the future. 5. Finally, know that though he goes before us, he looks forward to reuniting with you again in heaven, and after Jesus Christ our Lord, he will be among the first to welcome you with great joy and love.