Các bạn du học New Zealand thương tiếc Đào Kim Chung
Farewell messages & condolences
1. Farewell message of the ExKiwi students, given by anh Bùi Văn Minh
To our dearest friend Chị Huỳnh,
On behalf of all of the ExKiwi students, we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to you and your family for your loss. The news of Chung’s death came as a shock to all of us; and he will be sorely missed.
I had the good fortune of meeting Chung in the summer of 1961, when we both were applying for the Colombo Plan scholarship to go to New Zealand – a college experience that would forever change our lives and introduce us to many new and unforgettable friends.
Chung was a very tall, handsome, and incredibly calm man. Chung was also quietly reflective, a feature that made him stand out from all of the other noisy and rambunctious classmates. He was also very smart and worked hard in school.
Thông, Phương, Khanh, and Nhật were his roommates and together they made a formidable group. Chung was quite the chef and was well-known for making a special dish – “marinated chicken with asparagus.” However, whenever his girlfriend Huỳnh came to visit from Wellington, he completely disappeared even when it was his turn to cook. It was obvious that he loved Huỳnh very much, but what I would like to know was what he said to four hungry roommates upon returning home.
He later graduated from New Zealand with a Doctorate Degree, returned to Saigon to lecture at Trung Tâm Kỹ Thuật Phú Thọ. Then after the fall of 1975, he moved to the East Coast of the United States; he worked first for General Electric in Kentucky, then for Merck Pharmaceutical Company in New Jersey. But it was in 2004, that he decided to retire to Little Saigon – here on the West Coast.
Since then, whenever the ExKiwis got together, Chung and his wife would always welcome all of us to their home with open arms. Just like in college, Chung continued to be the "responsible one" and he always made sure to take photos of everyone and generously gave us all copies as souvenirs of happy times.
As I flipped through some of these photos late last night, I saw the smile on his face and could see how happy he was to be among friends. It is these memories of Chung that we should all cherish and treasure in the years to come.
We will all miss him dearly.
May God reward him for his kindness, faithfulness, love and grant him peace.
2. Mai Chi - Danh Ngôn
3. Farewell message by Farewell message by Phạm Phan Long - Nguyệt Tú
Anh Chung:
I didn’t meet you, anh Chung and chi Huỳnh, in New Zealand, not even in California in the 70’s, 80’s or even 90’s, not until you retired in Santa Ana. We local Californians did not even know you were back here to welcome you. Yet, you came here and welcomed us to your new retirement home instead.
In the 70’s in Auckland, when I was there, VN students did not have a home with a host like chi Huỳnh to lighten our hunger and quench our thirst for Vietnamese cuisine. We missed fish sauce dearly. I remembered anh Quyền told me about the Vietnamese meals he and others had had with you. I was a late comer and I had missed all that. I was wondering what you, anh Chung and chi Huynh, were like. Where were you when I needed you?
The first real Vietnamese dinner I had in Auckland was offered by anh Bùi Hồng Cẩm. He went fishing with me on his boat: we caught no fish, he lost his silver plated boat anchor that he forgot to tie down and cursed the rope in anger, he took the mullet-the-bait home and cooked it with savory fish sauce. He must have laughed at me. I swallowed the whole pot of rice that night. I came to appreciate how anh Quyền and others would have felt having the good time with anh Chung chi Huỳnh there and then.
We, in California, have had more frequent gatherings since anh chi were here. Thank you anh chi Chung Huỳnh for bringing us together. The many photos you took and Webmaster Mai Anh Tuấn posted on the internet says it all. We were bonded through the mysterious and esoteric mitchong background and by your hospitality again and again.
We remember your kindness and gentle smile, your brotherly understanding and your genuine interest in our well-being. Anh chi came and visited Tú and me each time we escaped danger and were released from the hospitals. You also took special interest in our children as well. We learn to nurture and treasure friendship by your examples.
Anh Chung, you must take the early step to the next journey destined for mankind. You never left chi Huỳnh and us and we never lost you. We miss you, but we trust you are at peace now; no longer suffering the pain of sickness and no longer wondering about the treatment and their side effects. You are now free in the ultimate timeless freedom.
We know you are giving us your blessings. We know you want us to say good bye with our smiles. We know you want us to comfort chi Huỳnh and cac chau Kim and Travis’ families. So, anh Chung, please have a peaceful rest. We are here with chi Huỳnh and will be with her whenever she is in need.
We miss you anh Chung; you remain forever in our fondest memory.
Tú Long et al
4. Trần Ngọc Bích
Photos of the good memories
July 2000 - Washington DC - In a party welcoming Đinh Văn Quí
A few photos of Chung Huỳnh welcoming MC friends in their house
(all friend names carefully added by anh Chung when sending the photos)
July 2004
Chung-Huỳnh, Nghĩa-Cúc, Minh-Liên, Sơn, Thuong-Định, Thế-Vọng, Hương, Triết-Thanh Khê, Ngôn-Mai Chi, Giao-Diệp, Long-Tú
Sep 2006: Welcoming Khổ Bích & Tuyết
Anh chị Trần Đức Nghĩa, anh chị Phạm Phan Long, anh chị Lê Thiên Luân, anh chị Bùi Văn Minh, anh chị Nguyễn Binh (em họ Đào Kim Chung), Lê Ngọc Hà, anh chị Đỗ Thế Thuong (Lưu Thị Định), Nguyễn Danh Ngôn-Mai Chi, Đào Kim Chung/Phạm Ngọc Huỳnh, Nguyễn Hữu Khổ-Trần Ngọc Bích, Ngô Minh Triết-Thanh Khê, Dương Vân Tuyết
Sep 2007
Mai Chi-Nguyễn Danh Ngôn, Hương (vợ Trần Thanh Dang), Phạm Phan Long-Nguyệt Tú, Trần Hữu Thế-Danielle Lê Công Hoài Vọng, Trần Thanh Dang, Trần Diệu Hương, Trần Đức Nghĩa, Liên-Bùi Văn Minh, Lưu Thị Định-Đỗ Thế Thuong, Nguyễn Thượng Khanh, Hoàng Lan (exGia Long, bạn Liên), Trần Nam Sơn, Thanh Khê (Triết tới sau nên không có trong hình), Phạm Ngọc Huỳnh-Đào Kim Chung
Dec 2007
In party welcoming Hải Ngọc, Hưng Hiền Vy - Ngôn Mai Chi 's house(?)
June 2005 - Photos in California
From Engineering Alumni News, University of Auckland , p.6
March 2006 - With MitChongs in Houston for Nguyen Van Hao's wedding
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