Chapel Service

GRAVESIDE SERVICE

Photomontage

messages from zoom

cyruslam: Rest in peace Hiram. You were a friend to all and will be greatly missed. Thank you for taking the time to pass on your wisdom and knowledge. You will forever remain in our hearts and minds.

Wayne Yee: My deepest condolences to the family and RIP Hiram… I was his Adjutant in the American Legion. It was through his urging that I became the first Asian to become a District Commander and up the ranks as State and National positionsI am currently in Taiwan, but still functioning as the Post’s Adjutant for Commander Stuart.

BRANDON LEO: Thank you for coming!t.

MARJORIE LEE: ANGELINA, ANGELA—touching and moving graveside service with military tribute.

MARJORIE LEE: Bless you richly, Hiram! Your legacy lives on in the many you mentored, trained, restored. You have fought the good fight.

Patricia Kwan: Rest In Peace Uncle Hiram. Angelina, my heartfelt condolences, my husband Tony & I are so sorry for the loss of your beloved father.

Lisa Kwan-Golden: Deepest condolences and sympathies. Hiram will be missed! From the entire family of Fulton Kwan

Lisa Kwan-Golden: Deepest condolences and sympathies. Hiram will be missed! From the entire family of Fulton Kwan

Fiona : A beautiful celebration and service. My deep condolences dear Angelina and family. Much love Fiona (Hong Kong)

Angelina’s Eulogy

Hello everyone. For those of you who have not met me, my name is Angelina Kwan and I am Hiram Kwan’s daughter.   I would like to thank you all for coming here physically, virtually, and in spirit today to celebrate my Dad’s life.   As we have been preparing for this Celebration of Life, there have been so many people who have told me things about my father that I have never known about him, the people that he helped, the institutions that he helped strengthen, the students he taught, and lives that he touched.  It has truly been a learning experience for me and I treasure each and every story and memory.

I know all of you here today have been touched by him and I would ask that you remember those times with him when he helped your family stay in the US, or took you to lunch at his favourite restaurants like ABC or Taix, or when he taught you about the Fleuti case that went to SCOTUS or about investing in property in the US – his absolute favourite topic. 

So today, I thought I would share with you some of things that you may not have known about from the viewpoint of a father.

To me he was just Dad.

My mother Julia would always be the center of attention and Dad would very quietly sit there or just do his own thing. He worked incredibly hard and now after talking with you all, I realise all of the things he did for my family, his family, the Chinese community and the community as a whole.

Dad was kind and generous – to a fault,  but that was him. He would take pro bono cases, help people, give advice, time and hardwork, and he would always volunteer – be it a 9 time commander of the American legion to helping a poor immigrant.  

Dad was a man of little words and like most Chinese men of his time would never tell you about how he was feeling or his emotions – trying to get Dad to talk about himself was worse than pulling teeth with the exception of his experience in WW2, about investing in property and immigration law. I had a little game where I would time how long I could keep him on the phone and ask him about what he was doing and how he felt. I am pleased to report I had gotten him up to 4 minutes per call. All joking aside, it was wasn’t what he said, it was what he did.

Dad secretly loved going to the market. OMG Dad in the little electric cart zooming around in Costco – imagine that vision – well its real!  My fondest memory when I was 2 or 3, every night when he came home after work or sometimes in the morning, and he would take me to the Continental Market in Encino to buy groceries and we would stop by the cookie man who would always give me a cookie. That was his way of spending time with me.

Dad was thoughtful and would do little things that you would never expect - When my brother Lionel and sister Grace lived with us, Dad would go twice a day to the market to make sure we always had at least a gallon of milk as we would go through that gallon during the day – I credit that to why our family is so tall. Dad would pack lunch for mom when she was going to Gemology school and on random days, he would take my next door  neighbor Tiffany and I for ice cream at Thrifties – which was a treat.

Dad loved good food - Every Sunday after church at United Methodist Church, that’s where we met Revered Woodall, Dad would have reservations at Skandia the Brown Derby, or some other nice restaurant.  When I was 3, He would allow me to run in to meet the Skandia chefs and discuss with them the menu of the day and what my crepes would look like.  This would annoy my Auntie Mandy to no end. Dad loved Japanese food and there is a picture of Dad in the slide show in front of a box of Uni. That particular day he had the whole box of Sea Urchin  and enjoyed it immensely.

Dad was an unconventional parent – I guess because he had me at the age of 41.  For most of my life he would not tell me what to do. He would always tell me, “just do what you think best”.  And of course, I usually had no clue. All joking aside, I was very willful and did not want to follow his footsteps, so I became an accountant.  He never pushed or encouraged me to go into the law.  However, over the years I became a Regulator and was in the financial services compliance field, so when I applied and was accepted into Harvard for a Masters of Law, the only thing he said is, “You should have gone to USC instead.”  But I think he was secretly pleased. The last funny story – Dad used to drive Tiffany and I to school in the morning. One day he said, “here are the keys to the Gran Torino, drive yourself to school.” Never mind that I was 14 and didn’t have a license. So I taught myself how to drive, drove myself to get the driver’s license and drove us to school.  When I crashed into someone, some months later, he didn’t say a thing and just came with me to court and bailed me out.

Dad was a horrible disciplinarian – as I told you all, I was very willful as a child, and one day I was riding my bike and would not come in, he asked me to come in and he took a newspaper and rolled it up and hit is leg to tell me to come in – and of course I ignored him. He never raised his voice or screamed at me. He finally asked my Chinese nanny to get me in the house.

I hope some of these little stories make you laugh tell you a bit more about my father that you may not have known.

This year has been a super tough year with the passing of 3 Kwan brothers, Uncle Wellington, my Dad and Uncle James. I would like to pay tribute to the Kwan family for their resilience and strength and especially Uncle Leo and Auntie Donna who continue to carry the flag!

My father and his family came from a difficult background, but they worked hard, fought in the war, and built a wonderful life for us. As I think back about all the things Dad did for my family and the community, I think it was pretty amazing. He could not have done it alone. I would like recognize the Angela Cheng, my Dad’s assistant for the last 40+ years who also helped Uncle Wellington. She has been part of the glue to keep my family and the Kwan family organized and together, organizing my Dad’s work and personal life, my mom, when she was sick of course me and my siblings.  I would like to give her a round of applause. Teresa and Aha in particular have been invaluable taking care of both my father and mother.  Aha has been with our family for over 17 years taking care of my mom through her Parkinsons and of course taking care of Dad and now me. As for the preparation of today’s Celebration, I would like to thank Reverend Woodall, Richard Quan and Donna Kwan, the pallbearers, the boys from the American legion who are here today to support Dad, the Chinese Historical Society, and all of the people who made this ceremony a success.  Thank you everyone who are here physically, virtually and in spirit to help us celebrate Dad’s life. I know he would have wanted it this way. Certainly the late lunch we are having  would be something he definitely would want everyone to enjoy….

My father Hiram Wai Kwan, was an officer and a gentleman who lived life to the fullest, made amazing contributions, and enjoyed his life! Let us remember that and Celebrate his life.