ForeverMissed
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Her Life

Eulogy by Ed & Buck Wong (Vivian's brothers)

September 9, 2014

EDDIE: One humid Maryland day in June, 1961, when I was 6 years old, my father reminded me that it was his birthday the next day. “Yay, we’ll have a party for you,” I cried. “But I don’t have a gift for you, Baba”, as we call “daddy” in Chinese. “Don’t worry son, I’m coming home with a birthday gift that you will love.” “Yay,” I shouted as I ran around the house with my 4-year old brother. The strange bundle he brought home the next day sure didn’t look like any birthday gift I’d ever seen. It was all pink and squishy, and cried like a baby. Wait, it WAS a baby. Mommy said it was our new baby sister, Vivian (named after Vivian Leigh, the actress who played Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind).

BUCK: As time went on, my brother and I soon tired of this “gift”, which wasn’t a gift at all, but a noisy, pestering pixie who shadowed us everywhere. “Get out of here”, I’d yell at her when I went to play with Eddie. Rather than discouraging Vivian, our rejections only made her more determined.

EDDIE: I used that determination to my advantage. When cousins came over, we’d gather to play touch football in the backyard. On offense, six-year old Vivian was my left guard — a Rock of Gibralter in a skirt. And when we switched to defense, Viv was a pint-sized left tackle that charged the opposing quarterback with reckless abandon.

BUCK: From our mother, Vivian inherited genes for athleticism. Viv played varsity high school volleyball and college intramural softball. Eventually, she earned more sports accolades & trophies than my brother and I combined. I owe my current love for volleyball and softball to Vivian. In her youth, Viv had been our shadow; now, I had become HER shadow.

EDDIE: Our family wasn’t particularly religious: a bit of Buddhism, a bit of Confucious, a bit of ancestor worship, thrown into one confusing mix. We visited a Chinese Christian church when I was eleven, and discovered the spiritual home we’d been longing for. Through the changed life we saw in our mom, the three of us kids eventually “found Jesus”, too, and became active in the children’s ministry and teens group.

BUCK: In college, Viv was a business major, eventually earning an MBA in marketing. That business savvy served her well when she worked for Dow Chemical and NASA’s space shuttle program. That exciting ride came to a halt when space shuttle Challenger exploded after takeoff. The shuttle program was grounded, and Viv found herself laid off with many other folks.

EDDIE: The shuttle disaster was a seminal point in Viv’s life because her next job —Moore Business Forms — moved her far from home and family to a windy outpost called … Chicago.

BUCK: Over the next two decades, Viv started a family, and carved out a place in the church, schools, and community. Because of our busy lives, I only had occasional contact with Viv. In the times we did talk or visit, her focus was on our family and kids, and she didn’t share much about the many challenges she faced in the Midwest.

EDDIE: When the call came this past Tuesday that Viv had suffered a stroke, I was in shock. Over the next few days, as Buck and I made our way to Chicago, we were burdened with the work that laid ahead of us. Little did we realize there was already an incredible community that surrounded her in Chicago. Little did we know that she was SO loved by SO many.

BUCK: Knowing that Vivian’s spirit is now with Christ — and knowing her passion to help others — she donated her organs. Vivian's heart was transplanted to someone in Philadelphia; her lungs, liver, and kidneys were transplanted to recipients in Chicago. We’re waiting for word on who will regain their sight through her eyes. Vivian will continue to touch peoples' lives even in her absence. My parents will finally have the Homecoming they’ve long waited for; Vivian’s ashes will be brought back to Maryland.

EDDIE: And when each of us get the call to go to our final Homecoming, waiting at the gates of Heaven will be Vivian, with the broad smile we all know, asking “What took you so long?”