Family Reunion

Cousins Flora and Al.

I go to more of these every year...two days after getting off the plane we attended the memorial service for my father's first cousin, Margaret Choy Lan Ching.

I didn't talk much with Auntie Lani when I was a kid. I played outside with her son Dexter and second cousins--some by blood and some by marriage--Leonard, Erwin and Carleton. Children back then were expected to stay in their own worlds; adults couldn't be bothered by us, and we were fine with that.

I was able to identify all of them by sight (and they me) after 45 years on the Mainland. I didn't recognize or even know the dozens of people who came from later generations.

Lani seems to have led the retired life that I would be happy to have:

She retired from [First Hawaiian Bank] in 1985.

After retirement she enjoyed ballroom dancing and traveling to many countries. She was also an avid golfer and when she accompanied [late husband] Ed on their many Vegas trips, she would play the penny slot machines. When not gambling in Vegas, she followed the stock market. Marge was never idle, her hobbies were cooking, crafting, and quilting. In her later years she and Ed played mah jong, and she also formed a mah jong club at her last residence, The Plaza at Punchbowl.

More importantly, she leaves behind and derived much enjoyment from her five children and nearly two dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was 93.

30 minutes before the service the room started to fill up.