From: Stephen - 1
Date: 7/12/00
Time: 11:53:54 PM
Eulogy to Peter Chang, PJK, AMP - 27 August 1993
We are gathered here this morning to mourn the death of my father, Peter Chang, to celebrate his life, and to pray for the repose of his soul.
We mourn my father's death, as his death is a great loss to my mother and all the family, a great loss to his friends, especially those he had comforted and counselled, and a great loss to the community to which he made immense contributions in his humble and modest way.
We are here to celebrate his life as through his living and being with us he brought love, faith, hope, charity, wisdom, comfort, peace and joy to all of his family and to those who came to know him and came in contact with him. Through his life and conduct he showed in a living way the Christian way of life.
My father was a filial and dutiful son, a loving and devoted husband, and a loving and concerned brother. He was a loving and caring father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was an honest and responsible civil servant, a model citizen. He was a loyal and sincere friend. And most important of all to him, he was a good Christian who practised the teaching of Jesus Christ in a living way.
My father's total devotion to his family is eloquently expressed in the way he denied himself of all indulgences throughout his working life, and applied all his income from his employment as a civil servant to provide for my mother and the family. That all his eight children received education at the tertiary level is the measure of his immense self-sacrifice and commitment to his family.
The testimony to his total honesty as a senior civil servant was that on his retirement in 1970 all the worldly goods he had was a gratuity from his pension fund which went towards the purchase of his retirement home, his government pension and a second-hand car.
My father's sense of duty towards the community was well demonstrated by the time and effort he put into community services. At the prime of his life he was a member of the Board of Governors of five convent schools: The Holy Infant Jesus Convent at Bukit Nanas and at Jalan Peel in Kuala Lumpur; HIJ Convent at Kajang, HIJ Convent at Brewster Road and Ave Maria Convent in Ipoh.
He played the leading role in raising funds to build the Catholic High School in PJ and the Good Shepherd Convent in Ulu Klang. For a number of years he was the Treasurer of the Perak Association for the Mentally Handicapped. Much to his surprise, in recognition of his services to the Association and of the role he played in the 1980s in raising funds to build a school for the mentally handicapped, His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak, conferred upon him the PJK and AMP awards.
My father's devotion and commitment to the teachings of Christ and the Catholic faith touched the souls of and brought faith and peace to many. On many occasions he spared no efforts at all hours of the day or night to help the dying to receive the sacrament of baptism or to get a priest to administer the last sacrament.
He was active in the propagation of the Catholic faith from the day he was baptised in his teenage years. Apart from playing the leading role in raising funds to build two Catholic schools in Kuala Lumpur, he was, at different times, Chairman of three fund raising committees which raised funds to extend and renovate the Holy Rosary Church at Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur; to build a new church, the Sacred Heart Church at Jalan Peel in Kuala Lumpur; and to build this very church, the Church of our Mother of Perpetual Help, here in Ipoh. He spared no effort in giving his time to the church and he did all this with no expectations of worldly rewards or recognition, never seeking acknowledgement or credit. This was clearly illustrated in that when I informed a senior member of the church establishment of his illness, he had difficulty in recollecting the work my father had done for the church. But this was not entirely surprising, as my father's immense contribution was always carried out at grass root level, with quiet modesty and humility.
When the doctor informed my father that he was terminally ill with cancer of the liver, his faith in God and his total willingness to submit to God's will enabled him to accept the news with total calm and with great inner peace. Throughout the last few months of his life he remained at total peace with himself. To him death would only be the beginning of eternal life. The peace that came to him in his last few months was as if he were already receiving God's blessing in reward for his Christian way of life.
Therefore let us give thanks for his life which was rich in simplicity and faith, and let us rejoice that through his death, my father will enjoy the eternal peace with God that he so richly deserves.
In bidding our final farewell to my father I would like to read extracts from a letter I wrote to him which I believe expresses the views and feelings of my mother, my wife, my brother and sister-in-law, my sisters and brothers-in-law, Uncle Paul Chang, my father's only brother, aunty Theresa Soh, my father's only sister, and all my father's grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
“Dearest Pa: We wish you to know that we are eternally grateful for all the love and devotion you have given to all of us; the sacrifices you have made to provide for all of us. We are ever so proud to have you as our father. Your total devotion to duty, your integrity, your selflessness, your steadfast faith in God is a living example of a Christian life. The values you have instilled in us and taught us will always be with us. We would like you to know that we love, treasure and hold dear all that you love, treasure and hold dear. We will care, love and look after mother not only because she is our mother, but also because of your total love for her. Life is but a short journey, and in your journey of life you have shown us what is meant by being a good and dutiful son, a loving and devoted husband, a loving and caring brother, father, father-in-law and grandfather. You have also shown us what is meant by the Christian way of life. With no expectations for reward and recognition you have given all you have and we cannot find words adequately to convey our admiration, respect, affection and love. You will continue to be with us always.”
(Eulogy by Stephen Chang, elder son of Mr & Mrs Peter Chang)