Neng Chue Lee

Eulogy for Dad

Losing our Father is one of the most difficult things we have gone through. There are no words to express his influence in our lives. It is through his example that we have learned to be the person that we are today. Our father was hardworking, strong and loving. He loved his family and was deeply devoted to our mother for 53 years and to eight children.

Our father was born to Pa Ge Lee and Kai Yang. He was the third of eight children. In1980 he migrated to Denver, Colorado with his family and later moved to San Diego, California. He saw a lot during this lifetime: a world ravaged by war, he himself served in the armed forces in the Vietnam War as a Lieutenant in the Lao-Hmong Special Guerilla Units. He successfully executed primary missions for air and combat logistics support for the United States Military Forces including the rescuing of American air personnel during battles in the theater of operations.

Duty, decency, reliability, honor, dignity and respect: these are all qualities that our father not only held in high esteem, but practiced every day during his time on this earth. He was a serious and disciplined man, but he could never resist the opportunity to have a laugh with loved ones.

Our Father was a straightforward man who demanded little from those around him, and who expected only the best for this family. His finest quality was his patience: an inherent ability to listen, to absorb and to offer a point of view based on quiet, measured wisdom. To say, we loved our dad would be an understatement—and to say we are going to miss him would be an even greater understatement. We cannot begin to imagine not having dad on the end of a phone or popping around at a moment’s notice to assist with any projects great or small with which we happen to be needing advice or help with.

It’s difficult to imagine him not being around and we are not sure how we will all cope. Our father lived a happy life, and only succumbed to ill health right at the very end. He was an imposing figure of a man, whose reassuring presence we all felt during difficult times.

As we gather here today to remember and commemorate his life, let’s bid him farewell as we mourn the loss of a lively, dignified soul. Dad, you were a soul who brought joy and fulfillment to many, and whose legacy will live on forever in our hearts.

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