Chun Ti Wu

It has been very difficult to find a beginning for this obituary, not because it is writing about my mother’s death (well, that is part of it) but mostly it was because that my mother would never wanted anyone to think of her simply as “Wu, Chun Ti born on October 06th, 1952 and died on June 12th, 2015, her story was so much more than that.

My mother Jeannie, or Wu Chun Ti in Chinese, was honestly the most courageous, feisty, and vivacious woman I have ever known, towering only 5 feet tall her presence was difficult to miss in any situations. As the youngest of 6 sisters and one younger brother below her, my mother had always managed to find the strength to support all of her older sisters while nurturing her younger brother even though at times I’m sure she drove her siblings crazy as well. The stories I have heard from my aunts and uncle were that even as a child, my mother would take off at any chances she got to search for her next adventures. This meant taking the train by herself, at 12 years old, traveling from Taichung all the way to Taipei or any other cities in Taiwan that she knew she had relatives to stay with, or backpacking through the mountain range in Taiwan with the Taiwanese Youth Corp at 18. Even at a young age my mother had always lived her life to the fullest, and followed her heart with no regret.

My mother was fearless and courageous, adventurous and determined, yet as much as she was strong and resilient she was also caring, gentle, and full of love. In her 10 years career as a registered nurse she cared for countless patients with a warm heart and a beautiful smile. Even as a child I remembered the people my mother had worked with telling me and my brother stories of how gently mom would care for her patients, always made them laugh and felt at ease being in the hospital. My mother was a glowing spirit within the circle of doctors and nurses as well, where no matter where she went the whole hospital would know her name.

Being an “Angel in white”, as nurses are called in Taiwan, she and my father met and fell in love while my mother took care of my grandfather in the hospital.

Married for almost 40 years my parents, like any other married couple, fought together, laughed together, and built their dreams together. Despite the tough times they have managed to find their dreams and raised two children full of heart and soul. Unlike the conventional Asian parents she allowed my brother and I to develop our dreams and interests, and never discouraged us when others tried. Because of our parents, my brother and I stand tall with our heads held up high.

It is difficult to understand sometimes why such a strong woman would have to go through the struggles of cancer, yet even as she was fighting cancer she reminded us to always to live each day with courage and a big smile on our face.

Although we are here today to say farewell to the most beautiful and courageous woman in our life, I know each one of us will live on as her legacy and celebrate her life by remembering to smile, be ever so gentle and loving to the world like she had.

This is not a conventional obituary, just as my mother was not a conventional woman. We are thankful that she will be looking after all of us from above, and instead of mourning the loss of her, we simply thought that she has gone on to find her next adventure and will be waiting for us at the other end of the rainbow.