Frank Yap Yin Ling

Frank Ling was born in Panyu, Guangzhou, China on October 5, 1935. He was the youngest son in the family, with two elder brothers and two sisters. When Frank was a teenager, his eldest brother moved to Hong Kong to set up his own business. After graduating in Electronics in China, Frank united with his family and worked for an electronic company. Upon his brother’s request, he helped him for a few years in his trading company.

In the late 1960’s, Frank moved to Toronto, Canada, and worked for the Government in the Water Works Department. In 1976, Frank met his beautiful wife Winnie for the first time during his nephew’s graduation ceremony. Although Winnie returned to Hong Kong, Frank was persistent in his pursue of love and constantly visited her in Hong Kong and exchanged romantic love letters between the two, which resulted in their marriage on August 3, 1979 in Toronto. In 1983, they decided to move to Sacramento, where the weather was warmer, and he stayed there ever since. He worked in various jobs for the US Government services since 1999 in Sacramento and San Jose. He loved his work and had no plans to retire even in his 70s.

Frank enjoyed Chinese music, singing, swimming, reading books and eating all kinds of food, especially fish. He loved spending time chatting with friends and families, usually around a few TsangTao beers. In his spare time, Frank loved to share his passion in Chinese erhu by playing in the Capital Chinese Orchestra. For years, he had also been supporting over 1,500 children in various schools in China for their Chinese music and English education. Frank and Winnie enjoyed travelling often and usually had one or two trips a year. He cared about his relatives, nephews, nieces and friends a lot and also paid frequent visits and liked to help out when needed.

Frank was a generous, humorous, kind-hearted and easygoing person, although he can be stubborn sometimes. He loved holding unforgettable surprise birthday parties for his beloved wife Winnie. He never ran out of creative costume ideas in Halloween parties, which usually caught the center of attention. Frank will always be missed and remembered with love for the joy he brought to all of us and everyone around him throughout his life. Indeed, he had enlightened and inspired many people with his joyful, playful and positive attitude.

On March 2012, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had operation in early April. While he was in the hospital, he committed himself to the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. In his last moments, he was surrounded by his wife, close families, and friends. Frank rested in peace in the hands of God at the age of 76 on April 17, 2012. He is survived by his wife Winnie.