Julie Chen

Julie Chen was born on May 27, 1966 in the city of Taishan, Guangdong Province, China to Pei Pui Chim and Wan Mei Liu. She was the oldest of three children including Wai Man Tam and Yuet Fung Tam. She married Qi Chen and immigrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1987. Shortly after, she bore four children named Annie Chen, Kevin Chen, Kelsey Chen and Cody Chen. During Julie’s lifetime in the US, she became a professional business woman who owned several businesses within the finance and restaurant industry. Later in her life, she found that her true passion was to serve God and got baptized as a Christian on September 26, 2010. On July 24, 2014, Julie Chen peacefully passed away while sleeping in her own home.

Throughout most of Julie’s career, she ran several restaurants and finance businesses. She managed all the administrative and finances for the home and work. After many years of working in the Chinese restaurant industry, she later on had a passion to learn about financial planning; mainly because she wanted to learn how to invest money towards her children’s college savings. Eventually, she became a successful finance representative for a company called World Financial Group (WFG) in 2001. Within a three year timeframe, she was able to excel her title from Finance Representative to Marketing Director. Her hardworking, determined and sociable nature allowed her to accrue over a 100+ client base consisting of friends, families and other business professionals. It was because of her motivated and determined personality that allowed her to be successful in what she did. Julie loved to take challenges.

Later in her life around 2010, she found that her true passion was to serve God and so she became a devout Christian. Julie was baptized to the Evangelical Chinese Church of South King County on September 26, 2010. She would never miss a night without reading the Bible and would always attend Bible study classes with her friends. Because she was so powered by the love of God, she became well known for the amount of love she had for her family and friends. She is a strong-willed, charismatic and inspirational woman that changed many people’s lives. She used to always say, “Its’ okay, God loves us.” And that’s how she changed this family. She gave us the greatest gift in the world and that is to know our Savior and His love.

In addition to her career and hallmark events, Julie also had a passion for a number of things. Of course, she loved to read the Bible daily, but she also loved to read cooking books. On many occasions, she would even look up recipes and watch Youtube videos on how to prepare certain dishes. Most of the time, with her natural cooking skills, she would transform those recipes she found into her own unique version. One remarkable dish that she was known for was a type of marinated beef tendon dish that was derived from traditional Taiwanese flavors and a creative mixture of her own. Everyone who ever tried it, loved it. In addition, Julie truly became a lover of the best thing in Seattle: coffee. She loved inviting friends to coffee shops and spending hours there to chat and drink coffee. Every once in a while, she would like to take her kids to her favorite coffee shops and show them what is good. Soon enough, she developed a passion for it and decided to make her own espressos at home. Other than food, Julie had a passion for photography. Although she never really had the chance dive deeper into that realm, she would always mention it. Her favorite scenes were those of nature and landscape. Sometimes, she would even give tips and advice to her kids whenever they took photos. But honestly, Julie was a lover of many things. She always had an eye for things and great taste in music, fashion and food.

In February 2013, Julie was diagnosed with stage IV cancer that had poor prognosis. The doctors only gave her less than six months to live; but with her strong faith in God and the enormous amount of support she received from everyone; she was able to make it much longer than what most medical professionals expected. It was because she had so much love from God and everyone that gave her life to fight. Because of Him, her family was able to fight strong and without fear. She also used to say that, “You don’t have to be the best, but always try your best.” And she did better than the best. She was an outperformer and we don’t think she ever let cancer beat her, not even now. She brought the whole family together. And she devoted her entire life to make that happen.

Julie was amazing and lived a beautiful life. She told the stories she loved to tell and taught all the lessons she learned to teach. She had a heart of an angel, and a love that was unbreakable. She had a smile that could light up the world, and a laugh that was unforgettable. Her mind was like a tiger and she was brave like a soldier. She fought through every storm and overcame every obstacle. And through everything, she always had a smile on her. That was the best about her and that’s what made her different.

Julie may not be here physically, but she will always be in our hearts. Her life has impacted all of us, whether it be in a small or big way. We hold memories and experiences of her life within ourselves, and although she may not walk among us here today, Julie will always be loved and cherished. Julie Chen was an amazing mother, faithful sister, dedicated worker and honorable friend.