Funeral Costs for my Grandma
Donation protected
My name is Kenneth Lac and I am currently a Junior at the University of Pennsylvania. I was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia and am at Penn due to my grandma, Shien Ching Shen. We are an immigrant family and she raised me, instilled values, and pushed me to be the first person to go to college in my family. She is my best friend, loved one, and the person whom I value most in this world.
The Incident
Our family was scrambling to find her when the sun started setting because she never came home after dark. She was scared of the dark. It would usually be a day after hanging out with her friends, eating dim-sum, or playing mahjong. She never came home. As we later realized, she wasn't going to come home, but we would leave the lights on for her.
On November 14th, 2017 at 2:15PM, she was struck by a pick-up truck back in Northeast Philadephia as she was only a block away from home. There are various news articles, detailing the incident that caused our whole family shock and sadness. She was dragged 120ft before the truck stopped, and the 21-year-old behind the wheels was not charged by the police.
She did not deserve this. She was a healthy, beautiful, and happy grandma who just loved life everyday because she gets to see her grandchildren grow.
What She Meant To Us
My materal grandma (婆婆) raised me since I was born, when my mother and father was working hard for us to have food on the plate. She would teach my the crux of Chinese wisdow through proverbs and parables of Buddhism, instilling me with insight and values that shaped who I became.
We really connected through watching Hong Kong shows. It would just be us two binging shows and gossiping about Hong Kong celebrities. Every show, I remember, she would teach me a lesson, whether it is to be kind, to work hard, and to be humble.
Our Memories
I recall being with her in every milestone of my life. I recall coming home from school everyday at the same time she came home from her job at the garment factory, to her aromatic Chinese food– a plate of mushrooms and chicken, or a heart-warming bowl of pearly congee when I was sick. I recollect being the same height as her as we walked through Chinatown where we were most comfortable in our Cantonese tongue. I remember outgrowing her, and she would tell all of her Mahjong and co-worker about how proud she is.
My grandma and I would always kick it back and eat dim sum together. I told her that the next meal was on me. I wish we could have had one more meal together, just the two of us. We would cook together; I learned her Chinese flavors when I was 7. We ran our mom-and-pop shop together when I was 11 when my mom and dad had to work on their regular jobs. We grew and harvest vegetables– winter melons, cherry tomatoes, eggplants– from our little humble garden when I was 12. We sang those cringy, high-pitched Chinese opera songs together. We chased the ice-cream truck together.
Promises
I promised her so much. I promised her that I would have her at my graduation from Penn, that she would see me get my college diploma, since I am the first one in our family to go to college. I promised her she would be at every milestone of my life. I promised her that I would get a "good" job and would take her back to China to explore the pastoral roots that cultivated her childhood back when she endured through WWII. She promised me she would stay around to hear my stories in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, to see me graduate, to see major developments in my life.
Since I was able to speak and think as a child, I always feared of this happening. I knew this goofy grandma can be careless, and so I told her that "if she doesn't look at the traffic light and crosses a red light, I would not take her out to dim-sum". And I am lamenting as I think back about that– I can only wish to have one more dim-sum meal with her.
Celebrating Her Life
As a low-income family, funeral expenses are high. We aim to celebrate her life through a traditional Chinese funeral at a funeral home in Chinatown. Both my mother and I will be handling the logistics for the funeral.
The expenses will be for the following:
•Traditional Chinese funeral celebration
•Monk (for the funeral services)
•Creamation
•Legal fees
•Reports and documents from medical examiner
If there are any concerns, please contact me [email redacted]nn.edu
Thank you advance for your support. Please, if you can, share this link and spread the word.
News Articles:
Philly.com
News24
Northeast Times
CBS
6abc
The Incident
Our family was scrambling to find her when the sun started setting because she never came home after dark. She was scared of the dark. It would usually be a day after hanging out with her friends, eating dim-sum, or playing mahjong. She never came home. As we later realized, she wasn't going to come home, but we would leave the lights on for her.
On November 14th, 2017 at 2:15PM, she was struck by a pick-up truck back in Northeast Philadephia as she was only a block away from home. There are various news articles, detailing the incident that caused our whole family shock and sadness. She was dragged 120ft before the truck stopped, and the 21-year-old behind the wheels was not charged by the police.
She did not deserve this. She was a healthy, beautiful, and happy grandma who just loved life everyday because she gets to see her grandchildren grow.
What She Meant To Us
My materal grandma (婆婆) raised me since I was born, when my mother and father was working hard for us to have food on the plate. She would teach my the crux of Chinese wisdow through proverbs and parables of Buddhism, instilling me with insight and values that shaped who I became.
We really connected through watching Hong Kong shows. It would just be us two binging shows and gossiping about Hong Kong celebrities. Every show, I remember, she would teach me a lesson, whether it is to be kind, to work hard, and to be humble.
Our Memories
I recall being with her in every milestone of my life. I recall coming home from school everyday at the same time she came home from her job at the garment factory, to her aromatic Chinese food– a plate of mushrooms and chicken, or a heart-warming bowl of pearly congee when I was sick. I recollect being the same height as her as we walked through Chinatown where we were most comfortable in our Cantonese tongue. I remember outgrowing her, and she would tell all of her Mahjong and co-worker about how proud she is.
My grandma and I would always kick it back and eat dim sum together. I told her that the next meal was on me. I wish we could have had one more meal together, just the two of us. We would cook together; I learned her Chinese flavors when I was 7. We ran our mom-and-pop shop together when I was 11 when my mom and dad had to work on their regular jobs. We grew and harvest vegetables– winter melons, cherry tomatoes, eggplants– from our little humble garden when I was 12. We sang those cringy, high-pitched Chinese opera songs together. We chased the ice-cream truck together.
Promises
I promised her so much. I promised her that I would have her at my graduation from Penn, that she would see me get my college diploma, since I am the first one in our family to go to college. I promised her she would be at every milestone of my life. I promised her that I would get a "good" job and would take her back to China to explore the pastoral roots that cultivated her childhood back when she endured through WWII. She promised me she would stay around to hear my stories in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, to see me graduate, to see major developments in my life.
Since I was able to speak and think as a child, I always feared of this happening. I knew this goofy grandma can be careless, and so I told her that "if she doesn't look at the traffic light and crosses a red light, I would not take her out to dim-sum". And I am lamenting as I think back about that– I can only wish to have one more dim-sum meal with her.
Celebrating Her Life
As a low-income family, funeral expenses are high. We aim to celebrate her life through a traditional Chinese funeral at a funeral home in Chinatown. Both my mother and I will be handling the logistics for the funeral.
The expenses will be for the following:
•Traditional Chinese funeral celebration
•Monk (for the funeral services)
•Creamation
•Legal fees
•Reports and documents from medical examiner
If there are any concerns, please contact me [email redacted]nn.edu
Thank you advance for your support. Please, if you can, share this link and spread the word.
News Articles:
Philly.com
News24
Northeast Times
CBS
6abc
Organizer
Kenneth Lac
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
