Chiu Yen Cho

CHO, Chiu Yen, 83, of Boston, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on February 27, 2012. Beloved wife of Shiu Lee Cho. Devoted mother of Yun Lin Lee and husband Shune Lok Lee, Sokum Theresa Cho, Paul Cho and wife Shirley Poon-Cho, Wing Kwan Cho and wife Paula Chan-Cho, Wing Kong Tso and wife Wan Ching Tso, Soching Agnes Lam and husband Patrick Lam. Wing Fu Cho and wife Suk Fun Ng Cho. Loving grandmother of Ernest Lee and wife Sylvia Ng, Esther Lee, Stephanie Cho, Justin Tso, Janice Tso, Szeman Florence Lam, Michelle Cho, Eric Cho. Cherished great grandmother of Bryson Lee, Cohen Lee. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to the visiting hours, Friday, March 2, from 4 PM to 8 PM at Boston Harborside Home of JS Waterman & Sons-Langone, 580 Commercial St., Boston, MA 02109, Parking attendants will be present. Funeral Mass 10 AM on Saturday, March 3, at St. James the Greater Church, 125 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111 followed by a procession to Newton Crematory in Newton. Parking available at church parking lot at Hudson Street. For directions and online guest book please visit www.bostonharborsidehome.com.

CHIU YEN CHO - By Szeman Florence Lam

My grandmother was an extraordinary woman. Wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a friend to many – she was all of these and more. I was lucky enough to be one of the last people to see her before she left. It was last Sunday afternoon, and despite all of the pain she was feeling, she opened her eyes and look into mine. She used all of the energy she had left to try to say my name, and although no real words came out, the eye contact that we made was a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

My grandmother had three great passions in life. One of these was talking. My grandmother loved to talk. Like I always say – it’s a good thing she had 7 children and 8 grandchildren, which gave her plenty of stories to share. What went hand-in-hand with her love for talking was my grandmother’s incredibly good memory. Not only could she remember hundreds of stories about all of us, but she also remembered everyone’s phone number by heart. Just as much as she loved talking to her family and friends on the phone, she also loved talking to them in person. When my grandmother was younger, I used to go to church with her almost every Sunday, and I remember she would always stay around after mass to talk to other parishioners.

Another one of my grandmother’s great passions was to share and do things for others. My grandmother was one of the most generous people I have ever met, and she absolutely loved to be around other people and to spread the joy and share the happiness she felt with others. Throughout the 7 years that my grandmother lived in a nursing home, my mom visited her multiple times a week. Every time, my mom would bring big bags of fruit – apples, bananas, oranges – you name it. I once asked her, “Mom, why are you bringing apples to Grandma? She’s allergic to them.” Or I would wonder, “How can one person eat 12 bananas in 3 days?” The answer was that my grandmother always loved giving fruit to her caretakers at the nursing home. Similarly, I remember asking my mom, “Why do we have a cake that is big enough for 28 people when there are only 12 people at Grandma’s birthday party?” That’s because Grandma wanted to share her birthday and share slices of her cake with the other nursing home residents and caretakers.

Finally, my grandmother’s greatest passion in life was to care for her family. She had an immense love for every member of her family, and she helped raise every one of her grandchildren. I remember how she would pick me up from school when my parents were busy, or watch over my cousins while their parents were at work. One of the things my grandmother greatly enjoyed was to go to casinos. However, she went to casinos not to gamble, but rather to spend time with her friends, to eat some good food, and to look for good gifts to bring back for her family. I still remember – whenever there was a new hairdryer in our bathroom, that meant Grandma had just come back from Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. My grandmother also loved to cook and to deliver homemade food to her children and grandchildren. I remember one time, only my mom and I were home, and we suddenly heard someone trying to open our front door. At first, we were worried it was a stranger trying to come into our house. Then moments later we realized it was just Grandma trying to deliver food to us that she had just made.

My grandmother was a very strong woman who never gave up. Even in that moment when we made eye contact one last time, I could tell in her eyes how much she wanted to keep on fighting for her life so that she could spend more time with her family and friends. The day right after my grandmother passed, I came upon a quote while browsing the Internet that was so fitting for the events in my life that it almost felt like it was a message sent down to me directly from God to make me feel a little better and to ease the pain that I was going through. The quote was: “Because someone we love is in heaven, there’s a little bit of heaven in our home.”

Grandma, I pray that heaven is exactly where the Lord will lead you. Writing and delivering this eulogy was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I know that you watched over me and gave me strength and courage. Grandma, thank you for everything you have done for me and for all of us. Our lives have been made better because of you. I know you don’t want to leave us, but you don’t have to worry. We will take care of each other and we will be just fine. And I pray that someday, when our time has come, we will all be together again. We know you love us, Grandma. We love you too, and you will be in our hearts forever. Thank you.