"I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. Be good to each other."

These were some of the last words spoken to me by my dad, Stanley Leong. He passed away peacefully in his home in San Jose, CA, a day and an hour after his 76th birthday.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer this past March. There were no indications of any health issues before February. He bravely proceeded with chemo, and had undergone 8 sessions. After the 8th session, he exhibited extreme fatigue, and it was determined that even though the chemo did its' job by shrinking the tumors, the liver had taken on too much damage and was no longer functioning properly. Numerous hospital stays and treatments later, his choice was to pass peacefully at home. We were visited by many friends and family, and are grateful for the time we had with him.

But even though he's no longer with us, his memory lives on in other ways. Anyone who's ever met my dad has experienced his kindness, his easygoing manner, his fondness for Disneyland, movies and steak. His unwavering support, always wanting us to "stress less" and "be happy". Keeping the peace for any conflicts that came up. An overall positive outlook on life, a life he said that he looked back upon with "no regrets".

Another thing if you knew my dad was that he owned a 1981 Honda Civic DX 3 door hatchback with 5 speed manual transmission. We jokingly call the car his "first child". He was the only owner of this car, still using it to drive around town, up until he couldn't drive anymore due to the swelling in his feet from chemo. When he would refill gas, people would stop to chat with him about his car - "wow, I don't see these around much anymore!", they'd say. As it is still parked in my parents driveway, people stopping by the house would marvel at the fact that it still technically runs and that it's still around.

We'd like to restore this car in honor of my dad's memory - fully give it a once over with a new coat of paint to its' original color (copper tan), fix the upholstery (which is cracking with age), give it a tune up so it can roll around town again.

Please only give if you can, but I'm sure my dad, wherever he is, would get a chuckle if he saw his grandson driving around in it someday. Thanks for reading and sharing my dad's story.

-Sandra Waring

***UPDATE***

Thank you to all who have contributed so far! I'm currently getting a car cover for this car to prevent more sun damage, as I don't have a place indoors to store this currently.

Wanted to share a few more photos of the interior now that I found the key amongst my dad's things. This is all original to 1981.

Shot of the passenger side glove compartment. No automatic windows here.

Original upholstery throughout. I remember sitting back here on rides to school.

Shot of the wheel. The odometer is at 26566 but I don't think it's accurate.