Ying Ho Chin

Ho was raised by his father in New York City. He told stories of growing up in the segregated inner city, playing with his relatives and neighborhood friends in the nearby Mt Morris Park. One of his best friends was Puerto Rican, and he loved eating at their place to experience new foods.

He always found ways to endure. He worked continuously and excelled in school subjects where he could, such as math. This worked to his advantage when he joined the US Army at 22-years old during the Korean War. The Army provided non-graduates with basic schooling, and his math scores sent him on the path of operational logistics which turned into a highly successful 20-year career in the military.

The Army broadened his horizons and showed him the world. He was stationed or had duty in places such as Korea, Japan, New Brunswick, Greenland, Germany, and Vietnam. He had two tours of duty in Vietnam during the war.

His military work experience in logistics carried him into the commercial world with Boeing for another 20-year career. With his military discipline and security clearances, he was tapped to work on the AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) program thus continuing his service to the military and the security of the nation. He was proud of working on that team and was awarded recognitions.

His 75-year marriage with his loving wife Anne (Lau Chuen Yoke) was a storybook adventure. Meeting up with her in an arranged tradition in their hometown of Canton, marrying in 1948, and subsequently bringing Anne and their first son Wu Sheng over to the United States years later. Military life moved them through Virginia, Germany, New Jersey, New York, VA again, Georgia, Germany again, GA again, Arizona, and ultimately to Ft. Lewis in Washington State where he chose to retire after 20 years. During their retired years, he and Anne continued adventuring with friends by joining a travel tour group that explored Asia and much of the United States, from western dude ranches to riverboats and historic sites.

He enjoyed music spanning the Glen Miller and Petula Clark eras. He was proud of his hard-earned cars and was particularly a GM fan having owned Chevy, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile. His favorite baseball team was the St Louis Cardinals for reasons never explained. Although he didn’t follow sports in general, he watched Seahawks TV games regularly in his later years and would talk afterwards about games.

One of his lifelong obsessions was photography. He purchased high end camera gear during his Army visit to Japan and eventually garnered darkroom equipment to develop his own photos. At home, he would go around asking if anyone needed to use the bathroom in order to make sure it would be free, then would turn the bathroom into a photography darkroom to print his pictures. Decades later he would take pictures and videos on their vacation group tours and provide copies for all their friends and fellow travelers.

Ho was very family orientated and enjoyed planning vacations with his young family. He made sure birthdays and special events were celebrated. In his very quiet ways, Ho enjoyed having his continually expanding family around for holidays and celebrations. He didn’t say much but, with a patriarch's caring eye, watched the interactions between folks, especially those of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Ho is survived by his children: Wu (wife Christina), Doris (husband Tim Ronan), Herman (wife Tammie Carlyle-Chin), and William (wife Kathy); grandchildren: Melanie and Timothy Chin (wife Jennifer), Katherine (husband Dave) and Allison Chin; Andy (wife Fia), Sonya, and Adam Chin, great grandchildren: Marcus and Calvin Chin. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Anne, who preceded him in death in 2023.

Thank you all for coming to help celebrate his life.

The Chin Family