| Agnes, Ted, Douglas, Karen, members of To family and dearest friends: Today I am standing here joining everyone to celebrate Sam's life. I am very grateful that I had a chance to know him. I was saddened by the fact that he has left us, and I miss him very much. Last time I saw him, it was almost a year ago. My wife, I, and our daughter Jennifer came to Pittsburgh to visit him. Although he was not quite himself due to cancer therapy, I knew that he was very excited to see us. I still remember his smiles. It has been almost 18 years since I first met him. In 1988, I was a naive graduate student from Taiwan, coming to Pittsburgh for study. Coming to a new place I was trying to adjust myself to new environment. Of course, I was very homesick. I remembered I met Sam and Agnes for the first time at department of Biological Sciences at Pitt. They were such a kind and gentle couple. Sam's smile and their friendships had soon relieved my homesickness in America. Sam was very kind to people. His kindness always extends to many graduate students at the department. Christmas party invitations have kept many overseas students warm and feel at home. I was always invited. I always had great conversation with him. Somehow, I thought I knew him longtime ago. He was very kind to me. I remembered that I bought my first second-hand car. This car had some problems. He would offer to repair, changing brakes and oils. He loves outdoors. I remembered joining Sam and Agnes to visit Ohio Pile for biking trip. The green tunnel of the trail was so beautiful. My wife and I had our first camping trip with Sam and Agnes at Ohio Pile. It was a wonderful memory. My wife, just like me, is also very close to Sam and Agnes. She is so sorry that she could not be here to pay the respect. My relatives, including my sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, mother-in law, when visiting Pittsburgh, all had enjoyed Sam and Agnes' hospitality. They want to send their condolences. I finished my PhD degree at Pitt and moved on to NYC for my postdoctoral training. He would help packing and moving, and was very excited to visit us at Manhattan. We moved down to Houston. He would also visit. He and Agnes also came to share the happiness of the birth of our daughter Jennifer. They have helped changing diapers and babysitting her. While Jennifer was growing up, they visited several times. Now she is almost 8. She was spoiled by them like their own granddaughter. His love and care is forever appreciated by my family and me. I am working at cancer center doing cancer research. It broke my heart to learn that Sam has lung cancer. My wife and I would give donations to cancer research foundation in honor of him, hoping that he would not suffer much from this horrible disease. During his sickness, he was often in our prayers. Although we knew that this day to say good-bye would come, we know that he will continue to live in our hearts with his smiles. He was a great friend, a great teacher (I learned electron microscopy from him), and a father figure to my wife and me. We love him. He will be deeply missed. |