Skylawn: The Woo Memorial

Transcription:

The Woo family originated in the Bo Hai area of the Shandong Province in northeastern China. During 1851-1864, when the Boxer Rebellion was its peak of turmoil, the family moved from that area and settled in northern Zhoupu, a township in the Nan Hui county, which is located east of Shanghai.

My beloved father, Woo Mu-Chuan, was a very poor but diligent laborer. He was too poor to afford even a single day of formal education. Being illiterate, he knew the pain of life without education. Thus, my father always impressed upon us the importance of education. He devoted much time to the neighborhood children by imploring community members with any education to help these children learn traditional Chinese writing. During the winter of his 47th year, my father was involved in a boat wreckage and caught a serious cold that took his life. I was only six years old then and slept in the same bed that would be my father's deathbed. He passed away that very night. The sad and hopeless feeling of that horrible night remains etched forever in my memory.

My beloved mother, Kay Yueh-Yin, was widowed at the young age of 39. She assumed the responsibility of both parental roles: to discipline, to provide shelter, to protect, to love, and to feed us. My mother worked day and night to support her five children—four boys and one girl. Despite this sacrifice, she led a happy and satisfying life. At the full age of 92, she joined my father. She was laid to rest at the top of Yang-Ming Mountain in Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.).

In memory of my father's dedicated quest in emphasizing the importance of education, I donated the Woo-Xun High School to my hometown Zhoupu in 1988, and also built Woo Mu-Chuan educational tower in recognition of my beloved father's unfulfilled wishes.

Both my parents' remains have now been transferred from their original burial places (Suzhou [father] and Taipei [mother]), so that they will be reunited in this beautiful Woo's Memorial Garden for the rest of eternity.

I hope with all my heart that Woo's posterity remembers the hardship that our beloved parents sustained. Their contribution to the family has provided us with prosperity in life. While harvesting the fruit, one should not forget those who planted the seeds.

Strive to be a better and more successful individual to glorify the Woo family name.

[Cordially written by Woo Xun [also known as Frank Ming-Fu Woo])

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