Eulogy

Gimpock P. Lew "Jimmy"

August 28, 1923 - July 6, 2001

Our Father was born in Toisan County, in Guangdong Province, China on August 28, 1923. His home village was Kei Mei Chuen, one of the Lei Au area villages of Lew Clan in Toisan County. He migrated to Hong Kong in the 1930s and came to the US at ship in 1939. He was 16 years old and following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He served in the US Army and Air Force as an interpreter, being honorably discharged in 1945 and 1952. In 1954 he met and married our Mother, Inge Lew, who passed away in 1998. Our Mom grew up in Germany and she and our Dad were pen pals after the Second World War. They met in Toronto, Canada and shortly thereafter moved to Sacramento, where my Dad initially worked for the National Dollar Store. He had, however, studied airplane mechanics in high school in Oakland, California and he worked for most of his life as an airplane mechanic at McClellan AFB, from which he retired in 1985. During the Vietnam War he spent time working as a civilian for the Air Force in both Vietnam and Thailand.

Dad received an certificate in 'architectual drafting' in 1946 from a technical school in Washington DC, which he put to use in building most of the house that our family has lived in since 1963 by himself. He was a remarkable craftsman, able to work with both metal (on airplanes) and wood (on his houses).

He also loved to travel, taking his young family on annual summer vacations. We took 'road trips' throughout the western United States in our 'camper' truck, which he modified to fit a family of 5 children. He and our Mom also traveled throughout the world and he made many trips to China over the past decade to trace his family genealogy. Everywhere he went he would seek out Chinese restaurants and often meet Chinese migrants from the Toisan region of China. Following his retirement he became intensely interested in his family genealogy and was eventually able to trace his lineage back some 5000 years. If fact, more than anything else, in recent years he considered himself to be a scholar of Chinese history, and though he never received a university degree, he probably new more about China's ancient history than most university professors. He was also very devoted to his family, both his children and his extended family of uncles, aunts, cousins and other relatives. And he never ceased seeking out new relatives and strengthening his family connections.

Our father lived a long, diverse and accomplished life that straddled both Chinese and American culture. Several people have suggested that perhaps, at some level, our Dad knew that his time with us was coming to an end. In recent months he spoke increasingly about his extended family and genealogy with me and others. A couple of weeks ago he made his last 'road trip' from Sacramento to Vancouver, BC, with his best friend from Toronto, to visit relatives. He told me what a great time he had and how healthy he was feeling and how he had brought his grandson Nathan back to Sacramento. For me personally, that conversation came after I had returned from 6 weeks in Hong Kong, during which time I had visited Kei Mei village. It was the day before he passed away that we last spoke. It seems as though he had waited to talk to me about his homeland one more time; as though he had waited to have Nathan 'at home' in Sacramento one more time; as though he was disseminating his great knowledge of the family one more time; and as though he wanted to take that last road trip with his oldest friend one more time. In reflection, it was a perfect ending to an amazing life story. We all miss him greatly, in part because with miss the warmth of his company, but probably more so in the long run because we appreciate the legacy of family that he built around himself and which I know he wants us all to continue.

Alan A. Lew
Saturday, July 14, 2001