May Bay Chan's Obituary
Bay May Chan passed away on March 13 surrounded by her family. She is survived by her four sons, Larry, Victor, Jim and Jeffery, six grand-children and one great-granddaughter. She was 88 years old. May was born in Guangdong, China on September 10, 1924 and became an elementary school teacher. She was married for 48 years to Gim Pong Chan, a mechanical and chemical engineer with multiple patents, until his passing in 1994. She immigrated into the US in 1946 without knowing any English; this lead to some of her proudest accomplishments in learning to read and write English and eventually passing her citizenship test to become a naturalized US citizen. She was a dedicated member of the Lakeshore Baptist Church in Oakland and devoted to her faith. She inspired 3 of her sons to graduate from UC Berkeley School of Engineering, with the number one son becoming the loving caregiver during her final years. Her passion was listening to classical Chinese Opera music, watching movie musicals, reading Chinese and English books, writing letters, and spending time with family and friends, especially over a meal at restaurants.
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