Speech at the Memorial Service (by Wen-Hua 文华)

In the afternoon of June 24, Xu Ning asked me if I could say a few words about her mom at He Ning's memorial service to be held the next day morning.  That night, I struggled very hard writing it because there were simply too many things but too little time to say about He Ning.

I took the early train from New Jersey to Washington DC the next day morning. When I got out of the Union Station, the weather was sunny and beautiful. The taxi driver was extra nice to me and got me to the church on time.

Inside, in front of the altar, He Ning's picture was surrounded by flowers - white peonies, chrysanthemums, lilies, roses, hydrangeas …  Right away, I recognized the red vest. The picture was taken in a garden when He Ning travelled with us in Spain in 2007. She seemed to be looking at me, and then beyond me, with a mysterious smile, still so calm, so gentle, and so wise.

My speech was after the eulogy by He Ning’s son-in-law. With a very emotionally difficult start, I read on, slowly but clearly. I did not want people to miss a single word I had to say about He Ning.

How I wish I had more time …

I hope what I said and how I said it made He Ning proud.

To read my speech at the service, please click here.

Memorial Service for He Ning

The memorial service for He Ning will be held at Holy Rosary Church.

Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011

Time: 9:30 AM

Location: Holy Rosary Church, 595 Third Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Phone: 202-638-0165 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              202-638-0165      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

See the website for Directions.  

Dress code: Appropriate for a formal event.

Parking: The church has a small lot for mass attendees to park without charge. 9:30 AM mass attendees should have enough parking spaces. 

Sad News (噩耗)

Dear friends,

With a saddest heart, I have to inform you, on behalf of Ning’s daughter, Ning Xu that Ning (He Ning 宁和) passed away at 8:42 am today after a courageous battle with cancer. Ning was my college roommate, and she, my husband Chaochuan (昭全), and I were college classmates. We have been close friends for decades. Our last visit to see Ning was on May 21st and my last phone talk with her was last week after she was discharged from Inova Fairfax Hospital. We did not expect her life would end so soon. Ning was truly an extraordinary and courageous lady!
Ning, you will always be in my heart! 

I will post details regarding the arrangements when they are available from the family.

Today I got a phone call from Xu Ning, Ning's daughter ...

When I got home from work around 7:30 pm today (last night to be exact), I had a phone message from Xu Ning letting me know that her mom is back in the hospital again. Xu Ning asked me to call her after 9:00 pm but her phone kept busy till after 10:00 pm. I offered to help create something like this to make it easier for her to keep Ning's friends up to date about Ning's situation. I know that Ning is still fighting ... Please join me in sending loving thoughts and support to Ning and her family.