Mr. Sherwyn Chen's Obituary
Sherwyn “Windy” Ralph Chen was born October 3rd, 1956 in Oakland, California. He lived in the Bay Area his entire life and attended Skyline High, Chabot and Ohlone College. Sherwyn loved dogs, the Raiders, Tower of Power, muscle cars, beef chow fun, the Golden State Warriors, collecting coins, the beach, Chinese custard egg tarts, collecting sports memorabilia, lifting weights, making breakfast for everyone in the morning, playing craps at casinos, movies like Back to the Future, Forest Gump, Young Frankenstein and TV shows like The Andy Griffith show, I Love Lucy, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Walking Dead, and Better Call Saul.
Growing up, he was the youngest student of Bruce Lee, practicing Gung Fu at his martial arts school in Oakland. One of his greatest passions was the Chevy Camaro, even naming his firstborn after the beloved car. During the 70’s, Sherwyn was the founder and President of the East Bay Camaro Club, owning 5 Camaros in his lifetime. He was a Parts Technician for most of his career, working for Edgewater International, Bay Shore International, Mack Trucks, and RMC Lonestar, and continued to work in spite of his loss of speech later in life. In 1983, he married his best friend Alice Wong whom he had known since the age of 11. They had two children, Chevy and Sherilyn, and settled in Danville. As a family, they enjoyed many adventures in Hawaii, Orlando, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and France.
Sherwyn was a generous, kind person with a large heart. He had strong values about family, tradition, and respect. He loved spending time with his friends and relatives on any occasion. It was always important for him to gather everyone together to share a meal. Sherwyn always had a smile and loved to be playful and joke around. When he needed to be serious, he was an excellent leader and listener. Though his health was always a challenge, he continued to fight for over 29 years. You would have never known because he always made the most of the time he had and focused on the positive things in life. Sherwyn passed away peacefully on April 20th, 2016. He was the son of Charles and Betty Chen, who preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Alice, son Chevy, daughter Sherilyn, sisters Sandy, Robin, and Stacey, and many uncles, aunties, nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends.
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