A dignified farewell to one whose life was lived with dignity
On Aug 9, two days after his wife's abrupt, premature death halfway around the globe from her homeland, Sun Chenbei and his daughter Sun Weisi went to Macy's in downtown Washington DC. Chenbei needed a black suit.
"Does it have to be black?" asked the helpful saleswoman as she sought appropriate sized jackets and slacks from the racks. Yes, it had to be black, Chenbei said matter-of-factly. He did not say why.
On Wednesday, three days after her mom's death, Weisi and her dad Chenbei went to a Washington DC florist to help two women from China Daily's DC office to choose funeral flowers. Weisi's mother would be commemorated and cremated the next day, and her father would carry a wooden container of ashes (wood for getting through airline security) back to Beijing for a larger memorial meeting there.
