Edwin W. Kung

Obituary

Edwin Kung was born in China and had two brothers and a sister. They moved to Taiwan when he was a baby. Always a studious academic, he tested into one of the most prestigious colleges in Taiwan, Cheng Kong University. He met my mom in 1965 while working at Air Asia together and though like fire and ice they seemed total opposites, yet they were drawn together like destiny. They were happily wed in 1967 on Christmas Day and in 1969 my Dad immigrated to the United States, followed by my mom the next year. 

An active resident of the Bay Area for over 45 years, our Dad worked as a civil engineer first at Kaiser Aluminum and then at BART in many roles, including as an executive. Throughout those years he took his family (often with our extended family of cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents) on vacations to destinations far and wide. He taught his kids how to take smart risks, how to make things and how to take care of family. Taking care of family is what our Dad was all about. In 1999, Edwin was given a 50/50 chance by doctors to survive cancer—and he did. After that he leaned into staying healthy and making sure his family was well taken care of. His family was so grateful that he was a cancer survivor and awed by the strength he showed to pull out of it. 

Three years later, Dad earned his doctorate degree. He was also newly baptized and rededicated himself to serving the Lord through activities with the church—especially singing in the choir. Our dad was always a wonderful singer and not only played the piano and guitar, but also loved to sing karaoke with Mom and friends. Now his singing took on even greater meaning and depth and you could hear it in his beautiful voice. Dad loved to golf and when he and my mother was able to retire to Rossmoor, he was able to play golf nearly every single day, which he greatly enjoyed. What he loved even more was being able to spend time with not only my Mom and kids, but also with his four grandkids. In my Dad’s typical understated style, he would often times simply be around the family, playfully banter with the kids and bask in the glow of being surrounded by the family he and my Mom made, all to the sounds of the pitter patter of his grandkids’ feet and their laughter. Edwin Kung was low-key and laid-back, but also a nobly kind man and a passionately devoted husband, father and grandfather. Words can’t express how much we dearly miss him.

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