Ngon Chuck "Jim" Ng

A visitation for Jim will be held Friday, October 29, 2021 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery, 401 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85257. His funeral service will occur on Saturday, October 30, 2021 from 11:30 AM at Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.greenacresmortuary.net for the Ng family.

Jim Ng Eulogy, by Pastor Dillon Le

Ng Chuck Ngon, or Jim Ng as he was commonly known, was born in China on August 21st, 1927, in the Tai Shan region of Canton, which is an area that could be literally translated as “Ng Sandy Bay Village.'' Jim was an only child of Ng Poy Ah who was born in 1900 in China and died in 1969 in Parker, Arizona and of Chen Shi, born in 1908 in China and died in 1945 in China. Jim’s grandfather was one of the first members in his family who went to the US in the late 1800’s, following in the tradition of many from Canton who traveled to America in search of fortune. Jim’s dad, Poy Ah followed in 1921, spending a few years working and earning money in the US, and then going back to China to enjoy time with family. Jim’s mom, Chen Shi, was the youngest daughter of a provincial government official with 4 sons and 4 daughters. Chen Shi was only 18 when she married Poy Ah in 1926, and they were blessed with the birth of Jim a year later in 1927. After only a couple of years of marriage, Poy Ah left again for the US and with the turmoil in China leading up to WWII, Jim’s mom and dad determined he should go with his father to America. Also, in 1939, Jim’s mother sought a suitable wife for him and soon met Jew Yuk Gee, also known as Pearl, from a nearby village in Hui Yin. After only meeting a few times, Jim and Pearl were betrothed to be married. In 1940, Jim left China at 14 years old with his father, and his “paper brother”. They took a small fishing boat to Macau, then to Hong Kong, and then another boat to Shanghai. From Shanghai, they sailed for Vancouver. After several weeks they finally landed, then they took a train from Vancouver to Montreal, and eventually another train to Boston. There in Boston, Jim’s dad and his “paper brother” passed through immigration, but Jim was held back. He was put into an immigration holding area where almost 200 people from China waited their turn to be questioned by the US immigration officials. Jim’s dad would come to the immigration office every week to try to see him and would always leave food for him. After 2 1/2 months, Jim was questioned by the immigration officials and passed their evaluation, finally being reunited with his father.

Later in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Jim worked in his dad’s “hand-laundry”, and attended the local elementary school. However, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the United States’ entry into WWII, Jim’s world changed again. Most of his cousins working in the hand-laundry were drafted, but Jim’s dad was too old to be drafted, and Jim at 16 was too young. So, once more, Jim and his dad moved again and this time to Portland, Oregon. On Oct. 22nd, 1945, soon after he turned 18 years old, Jim was drafted into the US military. He reported for service in Fort Lewis, Washington,

1

traveled by train to Louisiana, and on to Missouri for his basic training, then he served as a cook for most of his time in military service. On Nov 23rd, 1946, at Fort Dixon, New Jersey, Jim received an Honorable Discharge. It was then in 1947 Jim returned to China, and finally, 8 years after they were originally betrothed, Jim and Pearl were married. They lived together in the Ng village for another two years, but in 1949, news had reached their isolated village that Communists were closing in, and the Chinese Nationalist government had retreated to Taiwan. Alarmed, Jim, his father, and most of the male relatives fled, many to Hong Kong and others to the United States. But Pearl, like most of the wives were left behind in China, and eventually made her own way to Hong Kong. In 1953 after 4 long years, Pearl finally got the authorization to leave Hong Kong, and join Jim who was now in Eloy, Arizona. Here, Jim and Pearl faced more challenges as they worked long days and nights in a series of small grocery stores. At the same time, they were finally starting their own family as Judy, the oldest, was born in 1954, Raymond in 1956, Nancy in 1957 and Betty in 1959. It must have been a tremendous struggle for them with 4 young kids under the age of 6, trying to raise a family and also run a business. It was especially frightening when Jim was diagnosed with tuberculosis in the late 1950’s and had to be quarantined.

In 1960, Jim had recovered, then he and Pearl bought a tiny grocery store in Gila Bend, Arizona where they deepened their roots. Their family continued to grow with Herbert being born in 1961, Donald arriving in 1963, and Howard in 1967. As the 7 siblings often liked to joke, they all provided a source of “cheap labor” for the grocery store. After an incredible 60+ years of marriage, Pearl passed away in 2011. Recently, Jim reflected on his life and told his daughter Betty how the years in Gila Bend, raising the kids and growing their business, were the memorable “golden years” to him with the family. On October 7th, 2021 at the age of 94, Jim passed away peacefully with his loving family by his side. For our friends and family here today, it is probably the first time many of us have ever heard Jim’s early history in depth and this detailed. It is evident in his life journey that he experienced incredible challenges most of us could not even imagine going through, yet he was able to overcome and accomplish so much in his life for the benefit of his family and all the generations after them. Think about how amazing it was for him to have lived through those life circumstances and how it deeply impacts us as his family in the present day. From being drafted and living through WWII, to fleeing communism in China, and providing for his family as a small business owner, his legacy lives on through us who have been extremely blessed with the opportunity to thrive where we are today. I believe all of this is tangible evidence of God’s profound blessing and God’s amazing grace in each of our lives and in the life of our family.

Each one of us here are reflecting on our relationship with Jim in different ways and with our own unique perspectives that we experienced with him. One thing about him that we can all see is that Jim loved his family and it is highlighted through what he described as the golden years in Gila Bend. Love can sometimes be described as highly emotional, but I sense in Jim’s case he expressed a type of sacrificial love through providing for his family. His sacrificial love was one in which he gave all of himself, physically and mentally, in order for his children to grow up with every possible opportunity for success in America. Jim’s displays of affection to his family were shown by bearing the weight of responsibility for their well-being on his shoulders. This sacrificial love from a father to his children is a strong and deep love. In the Bible from the letter of 1 John 3:16 it says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” So, we have seen through Jim’s life how he gave his best to care for his family and be a loving father, but truthfully he is still a human being with imperfections and flaws like the rest of us. The fathers we have here on earth can sometimes help us to better understand God, our Father in Heaven. Being the author of all love and the creator of all things, God is the perfect Father and His love for each one of us is so overwhelmingly good. God spoke profoundly and let us know what true, sacrificial love really looks like when He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for us and offer us forgiveness of our sin. All of us here have fallen short of what God intended for us because we have all sinned. In our selfish pride and arrogance, we think we can reach happiness or success by our own achievements, but we’re always left with a void in our soul that can never be satisfied. We can only experience true fulfillment and true satisfaction in God’s love, by placing our trust in Jesus and giving our lives to following Christ. The reality is you and I are never too far gone or too damaged of a person to receive God’s love, because the amazing thing is Jesus already did everything on our behalf even when we least deserved it. Jesus’ sacrificial love is the greatest love we could ever possibly know in this lifetime and into eternity.

Secondly, this Bible verse calls us to respond through loving action and it says this, “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” So with Jesus as our model of what true love looks like, we are challenged now with loving the people around us with the same sacrificial love that Christ has shown to us. When I read this, I am so convicted because I don’t always do that even when I know I should. As I read this scripture and being here together with all of you to honor Jim’s life, I can’t help but be reminded about how life is a quick, fleeting moment and we so often take one another for granted. Right here in God’s Word, it’s calling us to forgive each other for things that happened in the past and the resentment which has been built up as a result. It’s calling for us to love each other deeply with sincerity and concern for what’s going on in each other’s lives. God has infinite grace for each one of us here today and as we experience his grace for us, then we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to show that same grace towards others even when it’s most difficult.

I know in this last decade of his twilight years, life was not as convenient as before for grandpa and our family. After he suffered his stroke, he needed more care and attention than ever before. He stopped driving and needed us to pick him up or drop him off anytime we all got together. His hearing was gone and he was too stubborn to wear any hearing aids so we had to yell just to talk to him. He had more doctors appointments he had to go to and so many other things that were necessary for his well-being. Over the years, I’ve grown to appreciate and witnessed often the sacrificial love that was returned to him by his children and their spouses during his greatest time of need. All of them in their own ways and by their own giftings, helped to care for grandpa well throughout his later years. I saw my aunts and uncles in our family selflessly give and care for grandpa at a time in his life where he had nothing to offer back to them. In the same way, all of us here as friends and family must continue to outdo one another in love and continue to live sacrificially for each other. Let us keep growing in grace which honors God and live with the memory of Jim in our hearts as we share that same grace with everyone we may encounter.

===============================

Grandpa’s Legacy - Eulogy by Valine Loo

In remembrance of my grandpa, I want to share with you some of my fondest memories and how he’s left a legacy for our family. I didn’t grow up calling grandpa “Gong Gong”. I called him Grandpa. I remember how he said my name in a way that sounded like a mix between Valine and Wahling - my Chinese name. When he would translate what Grandma was saying to me - he would often follow with “don’t listen to Grandma, she’s crazy” in that loving way that old married couples make fun of each other. He was funny. If you check out pictures of him and my grandma when they were younger - he was handsome! So I am lucky enough to have good looks on both sides of my family. (haha)

He was my all-American grandpa. He proudly served in the military. He was a business owner - owning THE grocery store in Gila Bend where my mom and aunts and uncles grew up. Grandpa was tough, an admirable man, fun and funny - he and grandma raised 7 children, had 19 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren - Gabe, Chevy, Liam, Charis, and Bristol. I was his oldest grandchild - and it was my pleasure to have known him for the past 36 years. I remember my first sleepovers at his house for Christmas with all my aunts and uncles and eventually cousins. I would eat strawberry Breyers ice cream (still my favorite today) and watch him drink coffee out of a clear glass mug, which inspired my coffee glasses today. He had a classic timeless style - and he rocked a sweater vest. I remember him chopping meat at his kitchen counter and cooking stir frys or my favorite tomato shrimp.

When I was 5 and caught the chicken pox, I remember staying at his house; just me and my grandparents. I would play in the safe by their bed (that they used like a night stand) and look at what treasures they kept by their bedside - vicks vapor rub being one of them. I would watch him brush his teeth in the morning and style his hair with Brylcreem.

I enjoyed spending time with my grandpa. His hearing would go, but his eyes would light up when he saw Liam.

Here was the last picture together with the oldest man and the youngest man on my mom’s side of the family - Grandpa at age 94 and Liam at age 6.

======================

Sharing Memories of Grandpa, from Tiffany Loo Le

• Thank you again for being here to support our family during this time. I’m Tiffany Le, the daughter of Doug and Judy Loo and one of Grandpa Jim’s eldest granddaughters.

• I am sharing my experience and about my time spent while living with grandpa. When grandchildren reflect on their time spent with their grandparents, they often think of their adolescence when their grandparents helped to take care of them. However, I had the opportunity to live with grandpa as a young adult while attending Arizona State.

• As I reflect back on the two years I lived with grandpa, I think about driving him to his Dr. appointments, going through the drive-thru at ‘Jack In The Box,’ getting Dim Sum for takeout, making sticky rice together in the rice cooker and staying up late at night while watching the T.V. way too loud. I even recall a time in which it was 10:30 pm and Grandpa was still out shopping, so I called him to see where he was and reminded him that it was late, and he needed to come home.

• Again, I ponder about how these were simpler times in my early adulthood, yet these memories are still fresh in my mind, and I know these will be significant stories that I hope to share with my future children and grandchildren one day.

• Furthermore, while I didn’t realize this at the time, I can see in hindsight that spending this valuable time with grandpa helped shape me to care for others and instill the value of spending quality time with my loved ones.

==========================

Sharing memories of GungGung, by Carissa

Since I only found out I would be speaking about an hour ago, this may be a bit scattered, but I will try. One of the biggest things I remembered about GungGung, as Valine alluded to, was that he knew how to have a good time, and he was able to find joy in even the little things. One thing I remember is that I had the pleasure of going with him to get his hearing aid fitted, and on the way home, as I was turning to get on the freeway on ramp, GungGung suddenly said, "What is that noise??". And I said, "What do you mean?" And eventually, we both figured out that it was the car's turn signal! He said that he had not heard the sound of the signal in 20 years! And he found such joy in that, and talked about it as we were driving down the 101!

On a more serious note, as an adult, I did not have the privilege of spending as much time with GungGung, as had Tiffany and Valine. But as an adult now, I realize how much of his personality came through his kids, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins. GungGung and PoPo facilitated a strong family culture, and I just love the fact that wewould get together with the entire Ng family every single year for Christmas. I felt as if I had a stream of 20 people behind me supporting me throughout my life. I do want to call out as well, that this family gathering is the first time in my life that I have not been with my cousin, Victoria, Aunt Nancy's daughter, who is my age and we have been glued together since birth for family gatherings. She couldn't be here as she is in the military and is now in South Korea. Now, as an adult, and looking back on our upbringing, I can see that GungGung accomplished the American Dream, as it has been fable-ized in American culture. He came with nothing, and had 7 amazing kids who accomplished so much and then had their own set of kids who went on to do amazing things.

When I was in college, I took Mandarin, and one of the assignments was writing a letter in Chinese to someone who could read it. So I wrote a simple letter, with sentences like, "I live in a dorm room with another girl", and "my blanket is red", and "we went hiking today." When I eventually got it to him and he loved it. GungGung was so happy and he kept it by him all the time. I think he was so proud of each and every one of his all of his grandchildren and get a great education and go on to have their own children, like Liam, who is laying on the floor. I want us to remember that and I also am proud of all of us.

Thanks!

=============================

Three Lessons Learned from Grandpa Ng, by Jonathon Ng

Family and friends, thank you for being here today. I’d like to take the next few minutes to share three things that I learned from my grandfather.

I was never sat down and told his life’s story, but I’ve pieced parts of it together through fragments and stories passed around the family. I’ve heard about how he immigrated to the states as a teenager with only his father, saved money to bring Grandma to America, and battled with tuberculosis while trying to take care of his family. Despite all the challenges he faced, he always had family to fall back on or keep pushing him forward. Similarly, I have seen that our family has one another to fall back on or keep pushing us forward. Thanks, grandpa, for teaching me about the importance of family.

I imagine that during his life, grandpa was seen differently: a Chinese man, an American, a father, a businessman. It’s hard to imagine the difficulties he encountered growing up in the melting pot. I believe that when he wasn’t American enough for others, he was content just being Chinese; or when he struggled as a businessman, that he was content just being a father. I don’t believe there was just one dimension to how he identified himself, and that helped him find strength when life got him down. I think I saw this aspect of him when we were in China back in 2012. I saw how, as a son, he felt guilty about not being around to support his mother in her final years, but as an elder in his village, he was proud to share his success and wealth with his neighbors. Thank you, grandpa, for teaching me about identity and not letting shortcomings define who I am.

Despite the trials and tribulations grandpa experienced throughout his life, in the end we can be here and say that his life was full. He has left behind a successful family and a wealth of experience of people, places, and culture. His life stands as evidence that if we take the time to overcome our obstacles and battle our demons, one day we might look back and see that our lives were just as full and complete as his. Thanks, grandpa, for teaching me about the importance of perseverance.

As his life passes on from living memory to family history, there is no doubt that Grandpa was a giant and we are standing on his shoulders. Thank you.

==============================

Sharing of Grandpa by Kyle Ng

Hello and thanks for coming today. My name is Kyle and I am the youngest grandchild in the family, and my dad, Howard, is also the youngest child. I want to share some of my memories of grandpa

I remember that he would come and stay with us in LA every few months. One of his favorite meals was steak so my mom would always cook that when he came to stay. One of the things he would always say was that I was too skinny. So he would always give me some of his food to eat. During our dinners, he would always ask for Lawry's seasoning. I didn't know if he had lost his sense of taste, or if he just really loved it because of how much he put on. After dinner, he would always tease me about being the one who cleaned up and did the dishes, so it was nice to know that he appreciated that I was the one who did all of the chores in the house.

==========================

Sharing of Grandpa, by Nicholas Ng

Hello - my name is Nicholas, and I do want to correct one thing that Kyle said, he DID not do all of the chores in the house.

Grandpa loved his cameras. Apparently Grandma used to get mad at Grandpa because he was always buying the latest camera - Kodaks, Polaroids and even movie cameras. But GP really used these devices. Grandma would yell at him, and tell him he was like a big kid. But with his many cameras, Grandpa memorialized the births, the birthdays, the graduations, the holidays. We can see what the store looked like, what was inside of the house. We saw the small, fake Christmas tree that GM used to put up every Christmas. We see that GP always had an American flag up in their house. But most of all, we see the kids - July, Raymond, Nancy, Betty, Herbert, Donald and Howard - as they grew up through the years. With different hair styles and evolving clothing, you can see how GP captured these special moments for each of his children.

So most of us grandkids only remember how GP has been in the last several years of his life. Caring and loving, but because of his age and infirmity, not able to participate much in our lives. But when you hear these stories from Grandpa's kids, now our uncles and aunties, and when you see the various pictures, you get a much fuller picture of the person that Grandpa was. He was curious and open minded, wanting to travel and to see new places and family members, but because of his demanding business, he could only take his family on occasional and short trips. But, somehow he knew that family was the most important thing in his life, even while he was fairly young and still working incredibly hard to build up his business. He somehow knew it was important to take all of these pictures of his young family and make sure that he created, and preserved, memories for each of his children. And now these pictures are a physical artifact that will help his children remember their own past, in that tiny town in Gila Bend, and these are now part of the legacy that he leaves to each of his children, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

================================

Sharing of Grandpa, by Lauren Ng

And I want to second that Kyle was not the only one who did the chores in the house.

One of the things I love most in the world is travel. I love the adventure, the discovery of new sights and new activities, learning about people and most of all, trying the food! However, when I think of Grandpa’s travel, especially his journey from his small village, and coming all the way to a new and totally different country…. I cannot even imagine it. Here he was a young, only child who lived in a small farm village… suddenly taking a fishing boat to Macao, then getting into a larger boat to Hong Kong, then traveling to the large cosmopolitan city of Shanghai and buying a 3rd class passage in an ocean liner. What was it like to travel 3rd class? It was weeks before they got to Vancouver, then they took a train to Montreal, then another train to Boston. And here’s the part that I find so hard to imagine….he was then separated by the immigration office from his dad and his older “brother”, and put into a holding area for over 2 months! He had to wait his turn with hundreds of other immigrants to be “interviewed” by the Boston officials. Every week, when his dad could get time off from his “hand laundry” he would bring food, but they could not see each other. Finally after 2 1/2 months, this 14 year old boy was questioned - what is your name? how many people in your family? how many rooms in your house? And, thanks to his diligent studies, he was finally released to his father. I find it hard to think About that young boy of 14 years old and how he might have been lonely and frightened waiting for so long to be released. Yet, he was determined to that he would do it. Yes, grandpa’s travel did include a sense of adventure, but even more it required courage.

====================

Sharing of Grandpa by Justin Ng

Some of the earliest memories I have of Grandma and Grandpa were from the many years that we came to Arizona for Christmas. Grandpa and Grandma were happy to see us, and you could tell that they loved being surrounded by all of the grandkids. And of course Grandpa always handed out the red envelopes on Christmas day. That was cool! But, we also have the stories passed down to us from my dad and the various aunties and uncles about grandpa and grandma, that have now become a part of our collective memories as well. I have heard so many times the stories (from aunties and uncles, not my dad…) like the time my dad pushed Uncle Donald out of a moving car, of my dad hitting uncle Donald on the head with a meat tenderizer hammer, of Dad pouring hot water on uncle Donald's face. But in all seriousness, my dad and all of the aunties and uncles seem to have really incredible memories of their time in Gila Bend. Apparently Grandpa had in recent years stated that his and Grandma's time in Gila Bend were their Golden Years. This was a time when he and Grandma were finally stable and able to grow both their business and their family. They moved to Gila Bend in 1960, buying a tiny store with a tiny attached house. They worked hard, and they expected the kids to work hard. They all worked in the store, did chores around the house. And yet GP also allowed the kids to ride bicycles and skateboards through the store aisles. And he let them play freeze tag and hide in meat cases coolers, under the cash registers and on occasion would even help some of the kids hide. His insistence on having his children work in the store actually formed a huge part of their lives that is foundational to the people they are today. Grandpa was also hardworking, dedicated, willing to put in the work. But he was also fun loving, and tolerant and supportive of his children’s desire to Play!!

=================

I was recently reflecting on the story of how grandpa came to the US from China at 14, with his father, but not knowing a word of English. In the small town of Marblehead, a couple of hours from Boston, his father enrolled him in a public school where he went to the first grade so he could learn English, his alphabets and phonetics. But, because he knew his math, when it was time for math in the first grade class, they had to send him up to the 8th grade class. I heard the story of how his first grade teacher tried to teach him “refrigerator” , and he just could not say it correctly or spell it, so finally the teacher told him instead to say “ice box”! How impossible it must have seemed to him at times trying to learn English at 14 years old, and also work in his dad's "Hand Laundry". Not only was he trying to learn a new language, he was also trying to learn the culture, the habits of his new home. Unfortunately, his life was soon disrupted again, when the US entered WW2, and most of the relatives working in the Hand Laundry were drafted. So, once again, Grandpa and his dad were on the move, this time to Portland, OR to live with relatives there. But once again, Grandpa's education was interrupted. From all accounts, it does not seem that Grandpa ever went back to get a "Formal" education. But, that did not stop Grandpa from learning. Apparently, he read the newspaper every day, and he watched the news constantly. He did his own self-education. But spelling was never his strong point, and he was always asking the kids how to spell words, like "tomatoes", and cantaloupes. Maybe it was because his education was so disrupted and piecemeal, Grandpa (and Grandma) made education a huge priority for their kids. Basically, the only reason they could get out of working in the store, is if they had homework to finish. I know that Grandpa took great pride in all of his children as they graduated from high school and went on to college. And then with the grandkids, he also celebrated their successes. I think in some way, it may have warmed his heart to know that his children and their children could get the education that he was never able to attain.