Daniel Yi-Ta Chen

Daniel Yi-Ta Chen was born in Tien-Chung (literally translated as “the middle of the rice field” – likely why Daniel had such a love of rice!), a small town in Taiwan, to Dr. Jing-Jong Chen and Ching-Hong Kuo on April 30th, 1933. He was the youngest of 3 brothers who survived to adulthood (having 10 other siblings who passed away young). Daniel remained close to his brothers throughout their lives, because of their shared love for Jesus Christ and the need to rely on each other throughout the hardships they suffered in their early years.

Most notably, Daniel lost his beloved father to pneumonia when he was just an adolescent, which forced all of the young brothers to work to help their widowed mother. Times were difficult for this young widow and her 3 boys, but during that season of their lives, Daniel’s love of family and strength of character were also borne.

From his father who worked tirelessly as a surgeon in the family hospital and gave generously to all in need, Daniel learned to give generously and selflessly, out of an open and loving heart. From his mother, who was a midwife and a devoted evangelist who loved to tell everyone she met about the Good News of Jesus, he learned to live out his faith and to be bold for his Savior.

As a third generation Christian, Daniel had the blessing to be introduced to Jesus from the time he was born. It was his grandfather who first received Christ after hearing an American missionary speak. Although his grandfather had been addicted to opium at that time, he was able to give it up immediately when he was saved! He then went on to seminary and became a Pastor.

However, Daniel didn’t truly turn his life over to Jesus until he was a young man at university. As a headstrong, adventurous young man, he wanted to go his own way. A talented athlete, he was too busy having fun to think too much about God. It was during a revival service that he realized he had never really surrendered fully to Jesus. In tears, kneeling at the altar, Daniel repented and gave himself fully to Christ, giving up his cigarettes and his rebellion instantly.

A few years after that, Daniel met a captivating young woman name Su-Jhen (Lily) Hwang who immediately captured his heart. Smart, confident and popular, Lily had a number of other suitors who were better dressed and more successful. Determined, Daniel didn’t give up and made his intentions known to Lily that he wanted to marry her. After much prayer, Lily chose Daniel to be her husband, because of his love for Jesus and his generous, loving nature.

They were married on July 17, 1962, and within a short while, were blessed with their first child, Timothy, in 1963. Hannah quickly followed in 1964, and then Merry in 1965. During this time, Daniel worked diligently to provide for his family at McKay Hospital as their Chief Lab Technician, while Lily stayed at home caring for their 3 young kids as well as her husband’s aging mother. It was a difficult time for this young family because of all the civil unrest in Taipei and the brutality of the ruling Chinese government at the time. Unwilling to raise their children under this regime, Daniel and Lily began to pray about what they should do.

In 1967, seeking political freedom and better opportunities for their children, Daniel and Lily packed up their young family and immigrated to Toronto, Canada. While life was hard for this family, they also experienced much joy and laughter.

Tragically, however, the family was devastated by the illness and death of their firstborn child, Timothy, when he was only 10 years old. This was a formative event in Daniel’s life, as he learned to cling to Jesus through his dark times of grief, even when there were no answers to his questions of why this would happen.

Yet his love for Jesus and his country never waned. And so he continued to serve and take on leadership roles with his church and the Canadian Taiwanese community. In 1984, Daniel and Lily’s lives took another turn, and they moved to California, because of Daniel’s job transfer. During that season of his life, he saw his daughters married, Merry to Peter Lin, and Hannah to Cornell Holmes. This was a season spent on his knees alongside Lily, as they cried out and prayed for their family. Through that, they witnessed God move powerfully in their lives, including the salvation of their sons-in-law and the return of their prodigal daughters to the Lord.

In 1996, Daniel and Lily joyfully welcomed the birth of her first grandchild, Amanda Mei Lin. Again choosing to sacrifice their own plans, they moved back to Canada to live with their daughter, Merry, to help care for their grandkids. Cameron Timothy Lin was born in 1999, further adding to their delight. From that point on, these two grandkids became the greatest joy of their lives, and they devoted much of their time to loving and caring for them.

But Daniel and Lily weren’t done. While travelling back and forth to California, they met Lily Nunez, one of the youths from Hannah’s church. Taking Lily under their wing, they gave her the love, encouragement and spiritual guidance that this young girl needed. Through this season, this young girl was adopted by Hannah and Cornell, and so Daniel became A-Kong to this girl.

Intermingled through this season was his ministry to the many people who were drawn to Daniel’s warm heart and strong faith. His life was full, between his family, friends and his involvement with his churches (C4 Church and Formosan Christian Church). As powerful prayer warriors, Daniel and Lily continued to call down the heavens on behalf of many people, and Daniel was much loved for his generous and loving heart.

Regardless of all the ups and downs of life, Daniel’s faith remained steadfast and he was a beacon of hope to many others. Even when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his early 60s, his faith was his anchor, and he shone the light of Christ to many people with his indomitable joy and faith even throughout his surgery and chemotherapy. And when God chose to heal him, he spoke boldly of the miracle of Jesus Christ to almost everyone he met.

Sadly, Daniel lost his beloved Lily in 2016, after a year long battle with cancer. While he remained rooted in his faith, he lost some of the sparkle in his eyes and his zest for life. Nonetheless, this was also a time that he drew even closer to his two daughters and their families, as he treasured his family even more.

Shortly after his wife’s death, Daniel was again diagnosed with cancer, and although he was successfully treated at that time, in January of 2019, his family received the news that his cancer was back and was not treatable. Although our Lord decided to take Daniel home to be with Him on June 14, 2019, he remained strong in his faith. Every day, while bedridden and unable to move, Daniel spent hours praying for his family and singing worship songs. Every other word out of his mouth was to praise Jesus, and even in his last few hours of life, he refused to stop praising Jesus. With very little breath left at the very end, he still prayed for his family between his labored breaths. Truly, Jesus was the cornerstone of his life!

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to:

Faith With Works Apostolic Church

1042 Sun Up Circle

San Jacinto, Ca 92582