Mom's Memorial Service

Yesterday was the Memorial Service for my mother, Doreen Yuen, who passed away at the age of 95 in December.

As with my father's ceremony in 2019, the sacrament of Holy Communion was held at Honolulu's St. Peter's Episcopal, the church she had attended all her life. Mom's service was livestreamed on YouTube, with relatives tuning in from Australia and the U.S. Mainland.

My brothers and I forsook a lengthy eulogy, and several speakers told stories about Mom. The length of the service was about an hour, and the crowd retired to the Parish Hall for lunch and fellowship while our family placed her urn next to Dad. Everyone seemed to enjoy the celebration of her life.

Her obituary is after the break.

Doreen May Tz Oi Chong Yuen, 95, of Honolulu, known affectionately as "Popo," was born on June 29, 1929 and passed away peacefully on December 23, 2024. Popo was the eldest of two daughters of Kim Fong Chong and Sarah Yap Chong. She attended Kapalama Elementary, Stevenson Intermediate, and Roosevelt High Schools. Popo married Alfred See Lung Yuen ("Gunggung") at First Chinese Church in 1951 and worked at Hawaiian Telephone, the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii, Everybody's Supermarket, and the Honolulu Police Department, from which she retired as a Fingerprint Classifier II in 1991 after 22 years.

She and Gunggung loved exploring the world and took many trips to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. They especially enjoyed traveling with friends to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando and other Mainland destinations. Popo loved music, played the piano, and for over 30 years was an alto in the choir at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, which her Yap family helped found. She took pleasure in encouraging the musical and artistic talents of her sons and attended too many school performances and showcases which she always enjoyed. After Gunggung passed away in 2019, Popo resided at Hale Kuike - Pali and at the Angelita Takahashi residence where she was lovingly cared for.

She is survived by her sister Kathleen (Joseph) Chang and five sons and daughters-in-law and their families: Stephen & Belinda (sons Nathan and Daniel); Paul & Judy Nakamura (son Sebastian & Yuree Namkung and their son Logan, and daughter Allie & Isaac Inouye); James & Lee Ann (son Brandon, and daughter Isabelle Zane & Connor and their son Flynn); Timothy & Pamela (son Philip); Richard & Keli Osaki; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews from the Yuen, Yap, Chong, and Tom family trees.

Services will be held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 29th with Visitation at 10:00 a.m. and the Memorial Service: 11:00 a.m. The service will be livestreamed over the internet and may be viewed at https://y outube.com/live/XRgWpwsFC3Q or http://bit.ly/dyuencelebrationoflife. If the livestream links break (for whatever reason), a new link will be created and placed in the comment section below the original video. The video will be archived and may be viewed later by accessing the same link. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church. After the service a reception will be held in the Parish Hall. Arrangements Provided By: Oahu Mortuary