Our beloved...

MING-LING CHEN LAI was born on February 20, 1953, in Taipei, Taiwan. She was the youngest of three children born to Kuo-Hsiung Chen and Kuei-Chen Huang. She graduated from Taipei First Girls High School and went on to study pharmacy at Taipei Medical College. In 1976, she boarded a plane bound for America and ended up in Indiana, where she graduated from Butler University in 1978.

In the summer of 1980, she met Ming Chung (who at the time was not yet Dr. Lai) through a matchmaker in Taiwan. By year’s end, they were happily married – truly a case of love at first sight. In 1983, she gave birth to a daughter, Emily, who would grow up to look exactly like her. Three years later, she gave birth to a son, Jeffrey, who would grow up to look exactly like her husband. A devoted mother and wife, she was happiest when she was spending time with her husband and children, whether at home or on family vacations (the destination was often Las Vegas). She was a pharmacist by training, but a jack-of-all-trades: she enjoyed cooking (her beef noodle soup was legendary), eating (especially desserts), playing video games (she broke the Sega Dreamcast by playing for 6 hours straight) and playing badminton (she often beat opponents half her age).

She thought her work was done when her children finished college, but in July 2008, she faced the greatest challenge of her life when she was diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer. With characteristic courage and determination, she endured round after round of grueling treatments without complaint. The disease eventually took its toll on her body, and she passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of January 3, 2010. She is survived by her children (including her husband of 29 years), her parents, and her siblings.