Shun Zhen Yao

She was born February 21, 1926 in Dongguan, China. Even at a young age, she was always strong-willed. Although she was told that it was looked down upon to study, she still went to school and read books anyway. That was the kind of person GM was: headstrong, unbending, and resilient.

Starting at a young age, she supported her family as a rice farmer while also maintaining her job as she attended grade school. Her life took a new step when she married Pun Hing Chan in the 1940’s to build their future together. The two of them raised two sons, David and Tommy, who carried on to be successful business owners. David and Tommy migrated to the United States and GM followed suit in the 1980’s to start a new chapter in her life.

In the U.S., she lived primarily with Tommy and Henny (wife), helping with household tasks and aiding in raising 3 children as Tommy and Henny, worked to support the family.

GM always put family first and was constantly concerned with their well-being. Whether or not we ate was always the question of the day. Her kindred spirit always reminded the people around her the importance of kinship and looking after each other.

Through her fighting moments, she was never without family by her side -- an opportunity for the family to reciprocate that kindred spirit; her lessons learned and carried on by those she cared and loved for the most.

She is survived by her two sons: David and Tommy; her two daughter-in-laws: Teresa and Henny; her five grandchildren: Tiana, Minette, Eric, Erica, and Tanya; and her great-granddaughter, Felicity.

Grandma Chan’s funeral service will be held at 10:30 AM, August 18th, 2019 at Palm Eastern Mortuary. The burial will be held at 12:00 PM at Palm Eastern Cemetery.

Below are some favorite memories from her grandchildren:

1. Tiana:

Every encounter with Grandma, she would always ask me the same set of questions: my marital status, if I’ve eaten, and if I’m cold. Not in that particular order, and she would usually follow up that conversation by bringing me a snack. My best memory of her was when she offered an imaginary bar of soap to my brother-in-law, Brett. She repeatedly, pretended to grab a bar of soap and rubbed her chest. She was trying to inform Brett that he can shower in the bathroom. Due to a language barrier, Brett thought she was requesting that he shaved his chest, and he just continuously declined. It gave us all a good laugh. Towards the end, she was having medical issues, and now I know that she is now in a better place.

2. Minette:

I can’t recount my earlier years with Grandma, as she moved into Uncle Tommy’s house when I was at a young age. Our interactions were scarce in between, but we made it count every time we connected. She was there in attendance for my wedding and then there at my daughter’s Red Egg & Ginger party. I’m glad she was able to meet her first great grandchild and even made my baby giggle. I know she had some internal struggles and towards the end, faced challenges in recounting certain memories. However, she lived a very full life, and I hope she will find her peace now.

3. Eric:

Grandma always had an element of surprise. Aishly and I were planning our wedding and we were concerned if Grandma could travel 1,400+ miles to attend the wedding.

Fast forward to wedding time, Grandma, in good health, travelled the distance and arrived in great spirits! I was ecstatic. Despite all the challenges, Grandma joined us to witness our union. She didn’t stop there -- she attended a tea ceremony and a few photoshoots. And to top it all off, she still got up during the “money dance” and danced with me! So, not only was she able to attend, she stole the show! Everyone got on their feet and started cheering this 92-year old dance floor destroyer.

A surprising moment that I’ll never forget. Thank You Grandma.

4. Erica:

Whenever we would go out to eat, I would always take a photo of her across the table from me. I’d pull my phone out and say, “Grandma, smile!” She would see what I was doing and throw me a stink eye and grumble, “Why would you want to take a picture? I’m eating. That’s so ugly. Don’t take it.” Then as usual, I would brush it off and say, “Okay!! Are you ready?? One… two… three… smile!!” And right on cue, her furrowed brows relaxed and changed as she flashed a big smile at my camera. She always tried to act so hard, but you know deep down she liked to have fun.

5. Tanya:

Beneath GM’s strong exterior was a light-hearted, childlike spirit. Despite growing up in rural China and living in the hardships she did that contributed to her tough personality, we did an excellent job of pulling the silly out of her. Over many dinners, we’d constantly goad her to reciprocate our silliness: wink at her, raise our eyebrows, stick our tongue out. She always resisted at first, but after many attempts, she would always indulge us and do the same. The chuckle that came after is one of my favorite sounds. The light in her eyes, the smile on her face, and the smile on ours - I’ll never forget it.