God Hold You, Justin Truong

Justin Truong's funeral was yesterday morning. He died at a party. That would be like Justin, having a good time until the last.

Justin was only 19 years old, but he seemed a little older. He was very bright. He graduated from high school and started attending University of Hawaii when he was only 16 years old. That's where I met him. Both of us were members of the University Concert Choir. Justin had a beautiful voice and played both the guitar and ukelele as well as the piano. He spoke English, Vietnamese, French and Spanish. He intended to go to medical school.

What I didn't realize until Justin was eulogized by his own mother, was that he was her only child and that his father had died just 16 months earlier. For Catherine Lan Tran to stand over her only child's casket and share her memories of husband and son with hundreds of people, most of whom were strangers, must have required courage that I cannot imagine.



Justin, I liked you a lot. We weren't close friends, but I enjoyed knowing you. Even though I am probably older than your mom, you treated me like I was just another girl at school. That makes me smile even now. Learning more about your too-short life has me rethinking how I live mine. While you were still with us, you always seemed happy, always had only good things to say about others. You filled your time with learning and having fun and doing things for other people. Even in death you had so much to give to others - your donated eyes gave sight to two 16 year old kids. Your bones and heart valves were donated too. I'm going to remember you. If I can be more like you, maybe that will give just an ounce of meaning to your passing.