Mervyn Harold Chin

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on July 21, 1929, he was the son of James and Olga (Richards) Chin.

He lived with his 2 siblings Ivan Chin (deceased) and Isabella James (deceased). As a child, Mervyn loved to play sports, pitch marbles, climb trees for coconuts and fly kites. He also was an altar server at Rosary Catholic Church. His father left the family when they were very young, returning to China. Olga raised her 3 children by herself. They were poor, but they were rich in spirit and hope, and along with many loving cousins, they were able to survive and thrive.

After finishing school, Mervyn soon looked for work and went down to the shore, where there was a shipping industry. He saw a man he would later know as Captain Oren, and asked him if he had a job on his ship. The captain said yes, and he was hired to clean after the crew members on the ship. Thus he began a career sailing in ships across the Atlantic. Mervyn was curious & learned how to keep the engines and boilers on ships running, and worked his way up to working in the engine room. This was a dangerous job, and the ships he sailed on had several close calls in harsh storms. Surviving that, Mervyn was part of the International Merchant Marines. He visited many countries on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the mid 1960's, Mervyn's ship came to New York. And during his furlough, he met Betty Kelly through his cousin John and her sister Ann, and 5 days later, they got married at Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY!

In 1969, Mervyn quit his job on the ship, and became a Building Engineer at the Equitable Life Building in Manhattan. He worked for the company for approximately 20 years, and then retired. Mervyn became loving father, uncle & friend to all. His nickname was "Gooden" and he was indeed good to everyone he met. He loved to go to Sunday Mass, play the lottery, and enjoyed watching all types of sports, especially horse racing. But most of all, he loved spending time with each and every one in his family & extended family.

In addition to his wife, Mervyn is survived by his children, Terry Kelly Sr. and his spouse Lydia Kelly of North Carolina, Yolanda Washington of North Carolina, and Cedric Chin and his spouse Johanna Chin of Lansdale, PA; his grand children, Terry Kelly Jr, and Armani Washington; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Friends and relatives are invited to a viewing from 6:00pm to 8:00 pm on January 4th at Huff and Lakjer Funeral Home, 701 Derstine Avenue, Lansdale, PA 19446. On January 5th, visitation will take place at St. Maria Goretti Church, 1601 Derstine Road, Hatfield, PA 19440 beginning at 10:00am. A funeral mass will be celebrated following at 11:00am.

Funeral services will also be held in North Carolina at McEwen Funeral Service-Mint Hill Chapel, 7428 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Charlotte, NC where a visitation will be from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm on Friday, January 7, 2022. Interment will be at 2:00 pm on January 7 at Carolina Memorial Park in Kannapolis, NC. Repass will be held at 903 West B Street, Kannapolis, NC 28081.