I remember  the brilliant conversations he had with my husband, Al Snaper, on the many projects they were working on.  Such minds are lost forever,

Jonathan Jan was our neighbor. He loved his family dearly and did everything for them. He was smart, compassionate and kind. We loved seeing him on our walks, talking and sharing with him. He always had a new idea or insight to enlighten us with.  He was a good man, a good neighbor and he will be missed. 

The first time I went down to Los Angeles solo to visit my grandmother, my father suggested I contact Jonathan to help with translation. It must have been in 2014 or thereabouts, and this is when I reconnected with my uncle as an adult. 

Over the next years, I made several trips down either with my family (Lily, Yuh-Nung, and Max), or alone. I discovered that Jonathan and I had a lot in common in ways; being the iconoclastic oddballs of our respective families ;) 

I only wish we had had more time. <3

Over the last few years of my grandmother's life, we drove down to LA to visit with her and with Jonathan whenever I was back in California. I'm pretty sure this is from the Huntington Gardens.  A lot of good memories <3

Remember Xiao Jan  part2 by Dave Liao
The last time we were together, we had a lunch gathering in San Jose. My wife Judy invited a friend who has expertise in Chinses medicine. Because Xiao Jan developed some breakthru scheme regarding 脈相儀 which is a device to read Qi from human body for computerized analysis. He asked to see this expert for critique and discussion.  I understand this device is a lofty goal that has found no good solution for many years.
When Kuang-Pei passed away, we sent a flower wreath which included a standard format funeral greeting card. Xiao Jan wrote back a thank you note. He told us that funeral card was not accepted because death is not a sad thing. Rather it is the embarking on a new life, a happy event. Now that Xiao Jan has left family and friends to embark on his next life, we’d wish him the best in his new life so that he practice Buddhism to the highest level and in his mundane life he can accomplish the ideas and inventions that he left unfinished in this life.


Remember Xiao Jan  part1 by Dave Liao

          I knew Xiao Jan (as Jonathan Yuh-Chuan Jan was nicknamed among our group of friends) from Jian Guo High school in Taipei 50 some years ago. Over all these years, we maintained frequent communication but did not see each other very often because we lived in different region. Now reaching back in my memory, many of our meetings became poignant. In particular :
             When we were graduate student in eastern USA, one winter evening, Xiao Jan showed up in our apartment in Buffalo, NY. There was a purple swelling on his forehead. He said he just had a scary car accident. His head bumped into windshield. He said luckily the glass did not break. Otherwise he would be thrown out of the car and most likely suffer a severe injury. I still remember the difficult drive we had next morning to Greyhound bus station. My old car had so much trouble navigating thru the icy streets. He rushed into bus station and caught that outbound bus back to his college town.
            Xiao Jan drove across American continent to California to start his MBA program at UCLA. He stopped by our San Jose house. He said he was going to visit a local restaurant owner, a Chinese guy who was quite successful. Maybe this was the start for Xiao Jan to open up his own restaurant later. At the moment, I was surprised by his interest in restaurant biz which seemed to me a profession with no need of advanced graduate degree. This is Xiao Jan, an exceptional guy who did not follow the norm. He spent the greater part of his life pursuing new tech ideas and doing many inventions. I, together with many other friends, were constantly amazed by his prolific new ideas.


One of the rare pictures found with Jonathan and Kuan-Pei kept in  my parent's photo album. 

Jonathan chose a City Hall wedding with kuang-pei, simple and private. These pictures were found in my parent's photo album Taiwan.

In the 1960s when Jonathan was in high school and Yuh Nung was in college

Photo taken with his parents when Jonathan graduated from the Physics Department of Taiwan University

A trip to Disneyland was obligatory shortly after Jonathan came to the States.

We shared much happiness with Jonathan and Kuang-Pei about their wonderful children from the very beginning through the years of their higher education and successful careers in California.

Max and Emily joined Yuh Nung and me for a visit of grandma and Jonathan in LA (late November of 2017). As usual we relied on Jonathan's expertise for ordering a delicious lunch.

Jonathan and Kuang-Pei raised three great kids. Early 1980s they came with Calvin to visit us in San Francisco (Calvin ran ahead out of this picture).

http://www.myanmarpba.org/index.php A Myanmar Buddhist temple in Azusa, CA was JJ's favorite place to visit. He wanted to go there all the time.  It has a worship place and residence. In the back of the complex is a gigantic, hilly garden with tons of Buddhist statutes. The photo shows the Bohdi tree in the garden, probably JJ's favorite place on this planet. The Myanmar version of the Buddhist sect is much more humble than the ornate versions in Northern Asia developed by the Chinese. JJ considered the Chinese Buddhist temple in Monterey Park (?) too commercial. JJ did not believe Buddhism is a religion. He believed it was a practice. Now, everything in the universe is related, his beloved physics, Buddhism, Chinese medicine, they all share a common core. After visiting this temple, he would go to the Shanghainese Chinese restaurant in ?Rowland Heights? Tiffany went to that restaurant with us once. JJ would be happy with Bee, his wife. If you light up a candle, you are doing the same thing JJ often did: He lit up a candle to be with Bee after Bee left this planet.

I am sorry for our loss. He has been my brother, my best friend  for forty years. From the first day I met him there was respect  between us. It began with trust. We agreed that we would never lie to one another.we never did. I loved him and loved me. He has been to my home . I have to stop. I am going to cry.

OBITUARY

Jonathan Yuh-Chuan Jan

December 28, 1952 – March 19, 2022

Gates, Kingsley & Gates Smith Salsbury Funeral Directors

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