Dr Duc-Le To
(1950 - 2010)

I was so shocked to hear about Duc-Le's death. I am someone who had always enjoyed getting together with him at AEFA conferences. He quit going so I would always call just to "catch up" on things with him. I called just recently to do just that and discovered he was no longer with us. He was a wise and gentle man. I will miss our chats and I am sure his family will certainly miss him. My prayers to his family and loved ones.
Linda Loubert

Delivered by Steve C. Yuen
at Mt. Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery
San Rafael, California
January 16, 2010

Family, friends, colleagues of Dr. Duc-Le To,
Sorrow fills our hearts in this sad moment, a sorrow that is deep and personal. Dr. Duc-Le To has silently closed the door of life and has departed from us. Our lives will be empty in the areas that he had brightened for us.

I have known Dr. Duc-Le To since we met in October 1999 at the 7th CAERDA (Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association) International Conference in Fairfax, Virginia. Since 1999, we worked very closely for CAERDA, a non-profit, non-political, professional organization. Dr. Duc-Le To has led CAERDA tirelessly for 18 years, serving in multiple roles, from president to director of membership. His unselfish commitment and devotion to the association has kept CAERDA going all these years. Dr. Duc-Le To was a strategic thinker, a visionary who was brilliant, innovative and creative, a great educator, as well as a caring mentor. He contributed much to the development of CAERDA in his last years and also made significant contributions toward Chinese American education. His impact will be felt for generations to come.

Albert Einstein once said, “The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.” Dr. Duc-Le To was a man who gave. He generously gave us his knowledge, his expertise, and his skills. Dr. Duc-Le To was a very knowledgeable and experienced researcher and scholar. He has contributed greatly toward Chinese American education, built relationships with government agencies, foundations, and other organizations on behalf of CAERDA, offered sound advices and mentored many CAERDA members. Dr. Duc-Le To touched many of the lives of our members. He always provided thoughtful, detailed, constructive suggestions and advice to CAERDA members. Those of us who worked with him at the conference planning committee knew well that he took the review process seriously. He provided very detailed comments and constructive suggestions to each author. It was not uncommon that he wrote more in a review than the author did in a proposal or presentation. Dr. Duc-Le To worked tirelessly and unselfishly for CAERDA, providing his great visions, strong leadership, integrity, and conscientious devotion. Most importantly, Dr. Duc-Le To was a wonderful human being. He was an unselfish, supportive, inspirational, and trustworthy gentleman. He is a role model for all Chinese Americans.

Duc-Le and I have shared a great deal in common. We both attended a university in Taiwan as oversea Chinese students. We both came to the US for our graduate study in Pennsylvania. He was a student at the University of Pittsburgh and I studied at Penn State. After graduation, we both settled in the US and began our career in the field of education. Though we never met in Taiwan or in Pennsylvania, the CAERDA conference in Fairfax, Virginia somehow brought us together. Because of our common backgrounds and interests, we became good friends very quickly. We frequently shared stories of our college lives in Taiwan as oversea Chinese students. Since both of us were football fans, we also heckled each other about the good days of the big rivalry in college football between University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. We attended many CAERDA conferences together in the US and Canada over the past decade and spent a great deal of time getting to know each other. Also, we took many sight-seeing trips together after working hard at these conferences. In December 2005, my family and I took a family vacation to D.C. Duc-Le was so kind and took time to show us around D.C. personally. It was one of the best vacations our family has ever had. My wife and children love Duc-Le dearly because of how kind, generous, caring, and knowledgeable he was. Duc-Le and I often talked about our personal lives. Interestingly, we communicated in three languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. We frequently talked about our families, our jobs, and our association. These were always our main topics since we both love our mothers, our families, our jobs, as well as our association very much. From our conversations, I learned that his family in California was the most important part of his life. He was a true family man who held onto many traditional Chinese values. Dr. Duc-Le To was a genuinely warm and wonderful individual—one whom we will miss greatly. Our sorrow is lessened only slightly with the comforting thought that we had the privilege to know him.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to share with you this poem (author unknown):
Life is but a stopping place,
A pause in what’s to be,
A resting place along the road,
To sweet eternity
We all have different journeys,
Different paths along the way,
We all were meant to learn some things,
But never mean to stay…
Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey’s quicker,
For some the journey’s slow.
And when the journey finally ends,
We’ll make a great step forward,
And find an everlasting peace,
As our special reward.

To Dr. Duc-Le To’s family, our hearts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time. Adlai Stevenson, former US Ambassador to the United Nations (1961-65), once commented about man and his contribution: “It is not the years in a life that counts; it is the life in the years.” Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. Duc-Le To lived. We will all miss him. Goodbye, Duc-Le.

Dear Uncle Le,

We just celebrated your birthday and were looking forward to seeing you again next month for the Lunar New Year. It is so hard to find the words to describe how I feel, and accept the fact that you are no longer here. I will always treasure your supportive words, and will miss our long-distance conversations as well as the way you could always make me smile.. Love you (as you would say, "luv" just isn't the same).