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Dunn
Elizabeth Dunn (Aunty
She-Ming)
Sister-in-law
8/20/00
The first time I met Anna was
in 1974. She was on maternity leave after giving birth to
Gregory. As a first time mom, she was eager to share all the
details about how to bathe and feed the baby. Greg's every
kick and smile made her full of joy. As their house guests,
Keh-Jim and I were received with warmth and love. We were
convinced after our short stay that Anna would make a very
caring mother and sister-in-law.
Over the following ten years,
both of our families were busy raising kids. Alice, Emily,
Roger, and Laurie Ann came into the world one by one. Keh-Jim
and I lived first in Taiwan, then moved to the east coast,
and then finally settled in California. Our families didn't
have much chance to see each other. But no matter where we
were, we could always count on a beautiful family photo every
Christmas, together with a letter rich with details describing
the children and the family's activities for the whole year.
It was a joy to read Anna's hand-written letters. They were
always long and full of interesting stories about each member
of the family. It was through these letters that I grew to
admire Anna's wondrous story telling talents.
When the children grew older,
both of our families gained more mobility. Since we moved
from upstate New York to southern California, it was much
easier to see each other in the following years. We tried
to get together on special occasions, such as parents-in-law's
wedding anniversaries and birthdays. I appreciated the opportunities
to get to know Anna more personally.
Anna always put her children
and family before anything else. Since all of her children
were different in personality and strong-willed, Anna learned
to work with each of them and taught them according to their
dispositions. She would meet with the teachers, and find special
programs which suited their individual needs. By the time
Michael was born, she had also come into a very challenging
and demanding position with IRS. But each child still received
her full attention and support. She trained her children to
assume domestic responsibilities as they grew. Emotionally,
she was always there for them whenever they needed her.
For a period of time, Anna had
more opportunities to travel to California on business. She
always took the time to visit Keh-Jim's parents and us. Since
she found relief with the Chinese acupressure technique herself,
she would give my mother-in-law massages to improve her sleep
and to relieve her leg pain. It was such a beautiful scene
watching her trying to make the folks more comfortable.
Anna was not a big spender, especially
on herself. But she was quite generous to others. We were
given a whole new set of china when we moved to a new residence.
When the electronic dictionary first came out, she bought
our children one because she saw how well her children were
helped by it.
Anna was energetic and fun to
be with. Even though we did not share most of her activities
together, it was fun just to listen to her many war stories.
She loved sharing her exciting moments in Las Vagas, and we
loved listening to them. We will always treasure the memory
of our kitchen-table conversations when we sat around Anna,
a cup of tea in our hands, giving her our full attention.?
The last time we were with Anna
was in the spring of 1996, a few months before she passed
away. It hurt to witness her body being weakened by vicious
cancer cells, but her high spirits still gave us hope. At
our breakfast table, again the old Anna was telling us how
Roger proceeded on his eagle scout project and earned the
final award. As always, when she was talking about her children,
she was full of pride and content. Yes, Anna, you should be
a proud mother. All your children are doing well. And, as
part of the family, we are all very proud to have you.
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