Tuesday, January 22, 2013

(*) Lynda Chiu's Tribute, by Dr. John C. Chiu and Family (Brother-In-Law)



Dear Charles, David, Laurie, Minerva, Elbert, Family Members and Friends, 

Indeed it is an honor to speak on behalf of Lynda and to represent the sorrow, grief and sympathy of Charles’s extended family.  A number of our family was not able to travel here today but their thoughts and prayers are with us as we mourn a special woman. We, myself, our sisters, Elsa, Eleanor and Doris, our nephew Sam Tseng and our cousins Philip and Joan from California, are here to honor and celebrate Lynda’s life and the very positive influence she had on Charles and all of us.

Since Lynda and Charles’s marriage I have seen a dramatic and positive change in my brother Charles as he and Lynda enjoyed their life together.  We admired their continual spiritual pursuit as they studied Judaism and theology.  On multiple occasions Charles and Lynda came to Southern California to attend religious retreats to further their knowledge of Judaism.  They had a strong partnership and kinship in their pursuit of higher learning.

I was always impressed by Lynda’s passion for current events and politics.  She was thoughtful in discussions and well-read on current political news.  She actively e-mailed articles concerning her interests, including to my son-in-law Peter Gould, who regularly received multiple e-mails each week on a broad range of fascinating topics.  As Peter relayed to me, he was always impressed by Lynda’s eagerness to learn and be knowledgeable on a broad range of geopolitical issues.  Lynda grappled with concepts and ideas and her thirst for wisdom was evident in her prevalent reading and her eagerness to consider new thoughts and ideas.

It says a lot about her character that her views on a range of subjects continued to grow and evolve every year well into adulthood and into her senior years.  All of us are at risk of becoming sedentary in our mindset and allowing long-held views to become ingrained without further analysis or thought.    Lynda had a much more energetic mind and the result was her constant analysis of the world around her.  While she had firmly held beliefs and ideas, she constantly allowed them to be augmented with new information and her moral compass was clear and bright.  We can all admire her striving and hopefully better ourselves by observing her efforts.

My family and I have been honored to know and care about Lynda and it was special for all of us to have her in our life.  Her vibrancy and intellectual joie-de-vie (joy of life) we will continue to admire.  It is with love, honor and respect that we wish a sorrowful “goodbye” to Lynda’s immediate presence in our lives, while we acknowledge our love for her enduring spirit.

As a Hebrew Proverb says: 
A death is not the extinguishing of a light, but the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come.
Dear Lynda – I’ll leave you with this Hebrew greeting.  “Aleichem Shalom”  “Upon you, be Peace”.    In addition L’CHAIM (luh-khah-yim) - “to life”     

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