fjozn

Thursday, October 07, 2004

My grandfather

My maternal grandfather passed away on Tuesday.

He had a long battle with heart problems before finally succumbing to them, leaving behind my grandmother, 9 children (1 deceased), 16 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He was 79.

He was born in China in 1923 and came to Singapore in search of a better life. Like many of the older generation in Singapore, he lived through the hardships of the Japanese Occupation, the triumph of independence and many other significant events of modern Singapore.

Sad to say, I was never close to him. He spoke Teochew and me, Chinese. The language barrier was inevitable. I always need my parent to help to translate whatever he was saying to me. My elder cousins were the one speaking to him most of the time.

His final resting place would be bright and airy. As my aunt put it, just the way he would have like it.

Rest in peace, gong-gong.

fjozn at 11:48 AM

f j o z n
my thoughts
Thursday, October 07, 2004 My grandfather My maternal grandfather passed away on Tuesday. He had a long battle with heart problems before finally succumbing to them, leaving behind my grandmother, 9 children (1 deceased), 16 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He was 79. He was born in China in 1923 and came to Singapore in search of a better life. Like many of the older generation in Singapore, he lived through the hardships of the Japanese Occupation, the triumph of independence and many other significant events of modern Singapore. Sad to say, I was never close to him. He spoke Teochew and me, Chinese. The language barrier was inevitable. I always need my parent to help to translate whatever he was saying to me. My elder cousins were the one speaking to him most of the time. His final resting place would be bright and airy. As my aunt put it, just the way he would have like it. Rest in peace, gong-gong. fjozn at 11:48 AM
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