Tzu Jui (TJ) Chen 陳子瑞
Beloved Father, Grandfather, Relative, and Friend
December 10, 1942 - July 20, 2023
Tzu Jui (TJ) Chen passed away on Thursday, July 20, 2023 in Stockton, CA of natural causes. He was 80.
Known as “TJ” by family and friends, he was born in Toishan, China on December 10, 1942, to Kung Ching Chan 陳公正, father, and Chun Wing Chui 徐振榮, mother. TJ lived with his parents and siblings near their ancestral village until he was 18. The first of his family to attend university, he graduated with a degree in food science and moved to Guangzhou. There he met and married his future wife, Way Lon Yung 容衛鸞 in 1969, and they gave birth to two daughters, Lori 陳潔 and Lisa 陳冬. TJ and his family lived in Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States in 1980. He reunited with extended members of his family in Portland, Oregon before eventually settling in Stockton, California, where he lived for 42 years. He became a naturalized citizen of the US in 2001.
TJ lived a full life. He loved taking care of his grandsons, spending time with family and friends and traveling to China. He enjoyed reading Chinese newspapers, keeping up with current events and celebrity news, watching football (go 49ers!), dining at local restaurants, and battled difficult sudoku puzzles from books by Will Shortz, NYT puzzle master, to keep his mind sharp. "Hot Sudoku" was particularly spicy.
TJ had an innate ability to problem-solve and engineer, building his wife a commercial-grade kitchen and designing and constructing an addition to the family’s home in Stockton. He could bring a solution to life just by looking at a picture, and loved to roam the aisles at Costco and Home Depot finding inspiration, materials and tools for his [mostly-successful] DIY projects. After retiring in 2005, he found joy and contentment in neighborhood walks, dabbling in poetry and art, and tending to his plants (clivia, a favorite) and vegetables in his substantial home garden. He especially treasured his many extended trips to China with friends and family, road trips and vacations with his grandchildren, and hikes on scenic trails.
TJ 陳子瑞 is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Way Lon Yung 容衛鸞, and is survived by daughters, Lori Chan Der 陳潔 of Danville, and Lisa Chen 陳冬 of Cle Elum, WA; son-in-laws, Kenneth Der of Danville and Winter Sanders of Cle Elum; grandsons, Jonathan Der and Rylan Der, both of Danville; siblings and relatives in San Francisco, Portland, Sweden, China, and Hong Kong.
He will be dearly missed but will be remembered for the joy he brought to the lives of all who knew him.
Donations in memoriam of Tzi Jui (TJ) Chen may be made to Jene Wah, Inc., an organization that helped him over the years so that other senior members of the Chinese community in San Joaquin County may benefit from their continued service.
VISITATION
A visitation will be held from 9:00am - 12:00pm on Friday, July 28th, 2023 at the Vineyard Chapel at Cherokee Memorial Park, located at 14165 N. Beckman Rd, Lodi, CA 95240.
SERVICE
A service will be held at 12:00pm noon on Friday, July 28th, 2023 at the Vineyard Chapel at Cherokee Memorial Park, located at 14165 N. Beckman Rd, Lodi, CA 95240.
Please leave your condolences below.
Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Chen family.