Obituary of Fung Chang Lam

Fung became a Christian at age 13. When WWII broke out in 1933, her parents dressed all the girls in boy's clothes to hide their true identity. She learned about Christianity from her cousin after he moved in with them. She accepted Christ as her personal Savior at age 13, and told her family about Jesus. She only knew that her father and oldest brother accepted Christ. During the war, she was not able to practice her beliefs in God. The family moved around many times during the war to keep one step ahead of the enemy. Fung was #4 of 16 siblings; she only was schooled to the third grade. In third grade, she had to wear a uniform. And due to the economic and social hardships during that time, her parents had to take her out of school after third grade so that her younger siblings could go to school. Her mom needed help around the house; so she kept Fung at home doing chores and shopping. Fung had taught herself various skills through experience, observations, and courageous acumen. Since the family traveled to various parts of China for her father's business ventures, she became well-versed in at least 6 Chinese dialects just from conversing with the locals. So, she had made fast friends. Her multilingual skills also saved the family lots of money because she became quite a savvy shopper/haggler. She also did food shopping at night during the war, since her father said it was safer to shop at night. Sometimes she ran into things at night, and found out the next day that they were piles of bodies - stacked 6 to 8 feet tall of people who died of wounds or starvation. Her father was always able to provide food for the family because he was a successful businessman. After the war was over in 1945, the family returned to Hong Kong. Fung was able to return to the Church in Kowloon on Nathan Rd. Even though her father had become a Christian, he still believed in arranged marriages. Fung was married to an American Chinese war veteran Harry Lam You. Fung and Harry moved to the United States Jersey City, NJ in 1947. Harry owned a restaurant in Jersey City. Because English was a foreign language and she had to work on Sundays in the restaurant, she was unable to go to church for the first few years in her new country. And just as she had done back in China, Fung learned English simply by conversing with people at her husband's restaurant the waitresses and patrons. She adapted very well in this new country, and became a US Citizen. She kept her faith with daily prayers and Bible readings; she sent her children to Sunday school at an early age of 5. Even though Harry was not a Christian, he was converted during his illness in the hospital. The hospital chaplain and his daughter Jean, spoke to him about Jesus and The Good News. Harry had finally accepted Jesus as his Savior before he passed on. After Harry's passing, Fung returned to the church in Chinatown the Chinese Evangel Mission Church, 1970-1995. She was active in various church activities - the choir, prayer meetings, Bible Studies, church retreats, Sunday school classes, visiting the sick and elderly, as well as evangelistic outreach in the Chinatown area. In 1995, she became part of the Cantonese Congregation at Rutgers Community Christian Church and attended Sunday school, and other activities. She stopped participating at RCCC in 2004 because she wasn't feeling well. Then in 2006, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. In January 2011, Fung became unable to walk nor stand, and confined to a wheel chair. She had to be changed, cleaned, dressed, and fed. By the end of 2013, Fung had stopped talking. Fung Lam succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease with a major complication of a massive stroke on April 27, 2014. She passed away peacefully on April 30, 2014. Fung is now in Heaven with a new body enjoying Peace and great Joy with our LORD.