Reverend Norman C. Choy

Reverend Norman C. Choy, 66, of Honolulu, Hawaii, passed away on October 7, 2014 at Queens Medical Center. He was born in Zhongshan, China and was a Minister of Chinese Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife, Yuen Wah "Anita" Choy; sons, Nathan Choy and Nick Choy; sister, Rebecca Miyasato; 2 Grandchildren.

Funeral service will be held on November 1, 2014 at Waialae Baptist Church. Visitation will be at 3:30pm and service will begin at 4:30pm.

Casual attire suggested.

Flowers are welcomed.

Reverend Norman Choy was born on July 14, 1948 in Chung Shan City, Canton Province, China. During his childhood, he lived in China and then moved to Hong Kong where he lived for four years. It was in his early teens that he, his mom, and two sisters, Chew Ping Chun and Rebecca Miyasato, immigrated to Honolulu to join their father who immigrated a few years earlier. He graduated high school from Maryknoll and attended University of Hawaii, majoring in Electrical Engineering and minoring in Computer Science. In college, he joined the Baptist Student Union where he met his future wife, Yuen Wah Choy, and began learning about the Lord Jesus Christ. After graduating college, he got a job at NCR as a Computer Program Analyst.

In 1975, he received the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart. In 1976, he attended a conference in Hong Kong where he felt the calling to become a Pastor. Shortly after coming back to Honolulu, he told friends and family that he was going to quit his job at NCR and attend seminary. He attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas and graduated in 1987 with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctorate in Ministry. During his time in seminary, he married Yuen Wah Choy and had two sons, Nathan and Nicolas.

After serving at First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, he felt the calling to return back to Honolulu to start a Chinese speaking ministry. He started Chinese Baptist Church in 1990 at what was known as Hawaii Kai Baptist Church. The church started with just four members, Yuen Wah, Nathan, Nick, and himself. They met in a Sunday school room, which they eventually grew out of. In 1994, Chinese Baptist Church moved to its current location and became a Chinese speaking mission of Waialae Baptist Church.

In 2001, Norman was diagnosed with Liver Cancer. At the time, they gave him six months to live. After enduring various treatments, he received a liver transplant in 2002. Norman viewed the time after the liver transplant as “bonus” time. He was able to witness his two sons get married and even became a grandfather to his two granddaughters. He also made multiple fishing trips to Alaska to catch his biggest fish, watch his Minnesota Vikings make the playoffs, and see his favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers, win multiple championships. Norman’s main goal, however, was to use this “extra” time to spread the word about Jesus Christ. He was blessed with the opportunity to share about his liver transplant experience to people in Hawaii, Texas, California, Alaska, Guam, Saipan, Samoa, China, Hong Kong, and other places around the world. He wrote a book about his experience as well. Above all, Norman loved and served God more than anything. He served as Pastor of Chinese Baptist Church until his passing on October 7, 2014.