Frances Yachan Cup Choy (Okamoto)

After getting Satomi home after a physically and emotionally draining few days, we were trying to unwind and regain our composure when my Dad called.  He calmly told me that his older sister, my Aunty, had died in her sleep the night before.  I knew that she had been battling advanced lung cancer for some time but had heard through the family grapevine that things were going well and she had been in remission.  Apparently she had been talking about a family vacation as recently as the night before her passing.  Everyone in my family was shocked but I was just numb.

My Aunty Yachan, as I knew her growing up in Honolulu, was a real sweety.  She was a teacher for many years and lived in a nice house in Manoa Valley right next to the big Chinese grave yard.  When I first saw the movie “Poltergeist”, all I thought about was her and that house.  I guess the idea of a legion of Chinese zombies just never phased her.  As I got older I came to think it was because of her strong Faith in God.

I was lucky enough to see my Aunty at my Grandma’s funeral back in August of 2008.  We didn’t spend a lot of time together but I remember giving her a big hug.  With the distance and Satomi’s illness, I just don’t have much oppurtunity to visit family and friends back there in Hawaii.

She is survived by her 2 daughters-my cousins Carrie and Cindy-and her husband, my Uncle Eddie.