Yuan Fong Lai's Obituary
In Loving Memory - Mr. Yuan Fong Lai Mr. Yuan Fong (Y.F.) Lai was born October 29, 1921 in Ningbo, China. He resided in Shanghai and received his degree in Physics from the University of Shanghai. He fled from Communist China, first to Taiwan and then to Hong Kong, to further his career in the textile business. He married Ms. Pao Lin Lee in 1958 and was blessed with two daughters, Ingrid and Janet. Mr. Lai and Ms. Lee saw the opportunity for Hong Kong (a British colony at that time) as an industrial hub due to the advantage of preferential duties for exports to Great Britain and other British territories. So in 1960, they established Union Cotton Mills, Ltd. Mr. Lai was a dedicated entrepreneur and was invited by his uncle, Honorable C.C. Lee, to become a member of the Hong Kong Trade and Industry Advisory Board, responsible for traveling to Great Britain, Europe, and West Africa to promote the Hong Kong textile industry. In the 60s, Mr. Lai utilized his technical background and developed a duvet cover for down comforters where the down feathers were trapped inside. The secret was combining superior American raw cotton and special looms to produce extra fine threads for weaving ultra-high density cotton cloth. Business poured in from many overseas down manufacturers and established Union Cotton Mills as a forerunner in using advanced technology in the textile business in Hong Kong. Upon such success, Mr. Lai expanded the factory and was the first in Hong Kong to bring in state of the art Picanol spindles and air jet looms produced in Germany. Mr. Lai was also the first to advertise his textile products using slogans. The "Start warm, Stay warm" advertising campaign for cotton flannelette was a huge success, resulting in significant sales in America and European countries so families could indeed "start warm, stay warm" through the cold winter. Since Mr. Lai offered reasonable prices, he received a large volume of orders, thus attracting other weaving companies in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and China to purchase Picanol air jet looms and compete with him. Mr. Lai welcomed competition and in fact established a committee with representatives from China to share learnings and techniques in the manufacturing process. The labor rate and cost of doing business in Hong Kong continued to rise in the 80s forcing many cotton mills in Hong Kong to shut down. Mr. Lai used his ingenuity to stay in business and expanded into dyeing knitting cloth for T-shirts and dress shirts. However with the establishment of Special Economic Zones in China, many weaving and dyeing companies moved to take advantage of the low cost labor, so Mr. Lai ultimately closed down Union Cotton Mills and retired. Upon retirement in the 90s, Mr. Lai became an investor. He also continued to support charitable causes and in 2007,together with Ms. Lee, established the Jean Wei Center in Hong Kong to provide dementia care services. In 2008, Mr. Lai's health declined and was diagnosed with kidney disease. He was admitted to St. Teresa's Hospital requiring kidney dialysis, which eventually took its toll on him. He passed away peacefully on July 15 and will be buried in the San Francisco Bay Area on July 27. He was a filial son, beloved husband, father, and grandfather to Anthony, Sarah, and Andrew. May he rest in peace in the Kingdom of God.追æâ? ¶Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Æ?芳å... Ë?ç'Ÿåâ?¹µÃ¥... Æ?芳å... Ë?ç'Ÿ(Ã¥Ë?åæâ?°¿Ã¦º)ï¼Å?1921Ã¥¹´Ã¥â?¡ºÃ§'Ÿæ'¼Ã¥¯§Ã¦³¢Ã£â?¬'Ã¥... Ë?ç¥'原å§'ãâ?¬Å?厲ãâ?¬Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?º æâ?º¾Ã¦â?º¿Ã¦»¿Ã¦¸... çšâ?¡Ã¦Å?Ã¥â?¡ºÃ¥Å â?ºÃ¯¼Å?æ•... è³Å?Ã¥°Ã¥Å â?ºÃ©Æ?¨Ã¦'¹Ã§'ºÃ¥§'ãâ?¬Å?Ã¥â?¹µÃ£â?¬Ã£â?¬'æ'©Ã¥¹´Ã¥Ë?°Ã¤¸Å 海ï¼Å?æ'¼Ã¦»¬Ã¦±Å¸Ã¥¤§Ã¥¸Ã¤¿®Ã¨®â?¬Ã§â?°©Ã§â? Ã¥¸Ã£â?¬'Ã¥¾Å?Ã¥Å?¨Ã¤¸Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¦¸Ã¥... ±Ã§'¢Ã©»¨Ã¥â?°Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥... Ë?Ã¥Ë?°Ã¥°Ã§£Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥¾Å?è½â?°Ã©¦•Ã¦¸¯Ã§•¼Ã¥±•Ã¤ºâ?¹Ã¦¥Ã£â?¬'Ã¥Å?¨1958Ã¥¹´Ã¨Ë?â?¡Ã¦Å½Ã¤¿Ã§Å½²Ã¥¥³Ã¥£«Ã¥®Å?Ã¥©Å¡Ã¯¼Å?è'²Ã¦Å?â?°Ã¥... ©Ã¥Ã¥¥³Ã¥... 'ãâ?¬'Ã¥Å?¨1960Ã¥¹´Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?º ç'ºÃ§•¶Ã¦•'馕港æË?¯Ã¨â?¹±Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¦®'æ°'Ã¥Å?°Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?¡ºÃ¥£Ã¥Ë?°Ã¨â?¹±Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¥Å èâ?¹±Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¥±¬Ã¥Å?°Ã§Å¡'紡ç¹'Ã¥'Ã¥â?¡Ã¤º«Ã¦Å?â?°Ã§â?°¹Ã¦Æ? ç¨... ãâ?¬'æâ?°â?¬Ã¤»¥Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'ŸèË?â?¡Ã¦Å½Ã¥¥³Ã¥£«Ã¨¦ºÃ¥¾'馕港紡ç¹'æ¥Ã¥¤§Ã¦Å?â?°Ã¥â?°Ã©â?¬'ï¼Å?æ•... é'â?¹Ã¨¾¦Ã¥'Ã¥'Å?紡ç¹'Ã¥» ãâ?¬'Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿé'â?¹Ã¥» Ã¥¾Å?æ¯Ã¤ºâ?¹Ã¨¦ªÃ¥Å â?ºÃ¨¦ªÃ§'ºÃ¯¼Å?並被é'â?¬Ã¥Å Ã¥... ¥Ã¥... Ë?Ã¥'æŽéÅ?â?¡Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¥¤§Ã¤ººÃ¥â?°µÃ§«â?¹Ã§Å¡' Hong Kong Trade and Industry Advisory Board æË?ç'ºÃ¦Å?Æ?Ã¥'¡Ã¯¼Å?è² è²¬Ã¥â?°Ã¥¾â?¬Ã¨â?¹±Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¯¼Å?æ洲ï¼Å?åŠè¥¿Ã©Å¾Ã§â?°Ã¥Å?°Ã¦Å½¨Ã¥»£Ã¦¥Ã¥â?¹•Ã¥Å 畼展ãâ?¬'Ã¥Å?¨60Ã¥¹´Ã¤»£Ã¯¼Å?èâ?¹±Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¥» Ã¥®¶Ã¨¦Ã¦±'Ã¥'Ã¥'Å?ç'Ÿç'¢Ã¥... ¨Ã¦£â?°Ã§¾½Ã§µ¨Ã¨¢«Ã¥¥'ï¼Å?ä½â? 羽絨ä¸Ã¨Æ?½Ã¥¾Å¾Ã¨¢«Ã¥¥'ç©¿Ã¥â?¡ºÃ£â?¬'ç¶'Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿç'¡Ã¦•¸Ã¦¸¬Ã¨©¦Ã¥Å æ'¹Ã¨â?°¯Ã¯¼Å?çµ'æ'¼Ã¦Ë?功ãâ?¬'ç§Ë?訣åÅ?¨Ã¦'¼Ã¥¿... é Ë?使ç'¨Ã©«Ë?ç´Å¡Ã§â?°¹Ã©•·Ã§Å¡'ç¾Å½Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¥Å½Å¸Ã¦£â?°Ã¨Å ±Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥Å?¨Ã¦Å?â?¬Ã§²¾Ã¥¯â? çš'紡ç´'æ©Å¸Ã¤¸Å ç´¡Ã¥â?¡ºÃ¥¹¼Ã§´°Ã§Å¡'æ£â?°Ã§´'ï¼Å?æâ?°Ã¨Æ?½Ã§¹'Ã¥â?¡ºÃ©«Ë?Ã¥¯â? Ã¥º¦Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¥¸Æ?Ã¥Å?¹Ã¯¼Å?éË?²Ã¦¢Ã§¾½Ã§µ¨Ã¥¤'éâ?¬Ã£â?¬'羽絨被å¥'ç '究æË?功å¾Å?ï¼Å?Ã¥³Ã¦Å½¥Ã§²Ã¨â?¹±Ã¦Ã¥¤Å¡Ã©''Ã¥¤§Ã§¾½Ã§µ¨Ã¥» çš'è¨'Ã¥'®Ã¯¼Å?推使å'Ã¥'Å?çâ?¡Å¸Ã¦¥Ã©¡Ã¥¤§Ã¥¢Å¾Ã¯¼Å?蕕æ'¼Ã¥Å?æ¥Ã¤¸Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¥'ªÃ¥â?¹¢Ã£â?¬'ç¶'Ã¥Å?æ¥Ã¥â?°Ã¨¼©Ã¤¸Å æµ·Ã¥'éâ?¬Å¡Ã§´¡Ã§¹'Ã¥¤§Ã¥¸Ã§•¢Ã¦¥Ã§'Ÿè¯Ã¤»Ã¥Å?Ã¥... Ë?ç'ŸåŠä¹Æ?Ã¥¾µÃ¥§»Ã¥... 'ä¹â?¹Ã¦Å?â?¡Ã¥°Å½Ã¥Å Ã¥'助ä¸â?¹Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿå¼•Ã¥... ¥Ã¥¾·Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã©¦'Ã¥±Ë?ä¸â?¬Ã¦Å?â?¡Ã§Å¡'Picanolç´'綻åŠç'¡Ã¦¢³Ã¥¸Æ?æ©Å¸Ã¯¼Å?é'â?¹Ã¥â?°µÃ¤ºâ? Ã¥Å?¨Ã©¦•Ã¦¸¯Ã§´¡Ã§¹'æ¥Ã¨½â?°Ã§'¨Ã¥¾·Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¦©Å¸Ã¦¢°Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¥... Ë?河ãâ?¬'Ã¥¦Ã¤¸â?¬Ã¥â?°µÃ¦'°Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¨••Ã¯¼Å?æË?¯Ã©â?¹Ã§'¨Ã¥£Ã¨•Å¸Ã¥®£Ã¦Å¡Ã§'¢Ã¥'ä¹â?¹Ã¥'ªÃ©»Å¾Ã£â?¬'æŽä¿Ã§Å½²Ã¥¥³Ã¥£«Ã¥â?º è¦â?¹Ã¥... ¶Ã¦¯Ã¥Å?¨Ã¥¯'Ã¥â? ¬Ã¤¸â?¹Ã§'¨36Ã¥¯¸Ã¥°Ã§Å¡'æ¯â?ºÃ¥¸Æ?縫åË?¶Ã¦Ë?70æË?'80Ã¥¯¸Ã©'Šçš'被å¥'ï¼Å?覺å¯Å¸Ã¥Ë?°Ã¦Å?â?°Ã§'Ÿç'¢90åŠ108Ã¥¯¸Ã©'Šæ¯â?ºÃ¥¸Æ?ä¹â?¹Ã©Å?â?¬Ã¨¦Ã£â?¬'Ã¥¥¹Ã¤¸¦Ã§'åŠÆ?äºâ? æ£â?°Ã§¹'法èË?絨çš'Ã¥®£Ã¥'³Ã¥£Ã¨•Å¸"Start warmï¼Å?stay warm"ãâ?¬'ç¶'推æ'´ Ã¥¾Å?ï¼Å?Ã¥'Ã¥'Å?é'Šå°Ã¦³•Ã¨Ë?絨è¡Å?銷æç¾Å½Ã§â?°Ã¦°£Ã¥â?¬•Ã¥¯'Ã¥â? ·Ã§Å¡'Ã¥Å?°Ã¥±... ï¼Å?使主婦å'çâ?ºÅ ç'¡Ã§ª®Ã£â?¬'Ã¥â?º ç'ºÃ¥'Ã¥'Å?çš'æ¯â?ºÃ¥¸Æ?è¨'Ã¥Æ?¹Ã¥Ë?çâ? ï¼Å?è¨'購å'®Ã¦â?¡â?°Ã¦Å½¥Ã¤¸Ã¦Å¡â?¡Ã¯¼Å?éâ?¬ æË?Ã¥¾·Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¥¸Æ?æ©Å¸Ã©â?¬²Ã¨»Ã©¦•Ã¦¸¯Ã¯¼Å?æ±Ã¥'äºÅ¾Ã¯¼Å?åŠä¸Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¨¥¿Ã¥®â?°Ã¤¹â?¹Ã©â?¡Ã¥¤§Ã¦'¹Ã¨®Å ãâ?¬'Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿèâ?¡´Ã¥Å â?ºÃ¥¢Å¾Ã©â?¬²Ã©'Šå°Picanolç'¡Ã¦¢³Ã¥¸Æ?æ©Å¸Ã¤¹â?¹Ã¥¸'Ã¥ ´Ã¯¼Å?並ç'±Ã©¦•Ã¦¸¯Ã§´¡Ã§¹'Ã¥Å?æ¥Ã¥... ¬Ã¦Å?Æ?Ã¥'助ä¸â?¹Ã¯¼Å?èË?â?¡Ã¨¥¿Ã¥®â?°Ã§•¶Ã¥±â?¬Ã§µ'æË?Ã¥Ë?ä½Å?社ï¼Å?é¿Ã¥... Ã¥¾â?¬Ã¥¾Å?ä¹â?¹Ã§«¶Ã§Ë?ãâ?¬'ç'¶80Ã¥¹´Ã¤»£Ã©''ï¼Å?馕港工è³â?¡Ã¥Å 水éâ?º»Ã¨²»Ã§â?°Ã¤¸Ã¦'·Ã¤¸Å 漲ï¼Å?èâ?¡ªÃ¨¨Ã¥» æË?¿Ã§Å¡'èâ?¬Ã§´'Ã¥» 亦éâ?º£Ã¦'¼Ã¦'¯Ã¦Å?ï¼Å?çâ?º¸Ã§¹¼Ã¥... â?°Ã¦¦®Ã¦â?¡Ã¦¥Ã£â?¬'Ã¥'Ã¥'Å?Ã¥Å?¨Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿçš'Ã¥°Å½Ã© Ë?é©Ã¦'°Ã¤¸â?¹Ã¯¼Å?è½â?°Ã§'ºÃ¦¼'æŸ'æ'°Ã¥¼Ã©â?¡Ã§¹'衣æ'•Ã¯¼Å?ä¾â?ºÃ¥â?¡ºÃ¥£Ã¦'¥Ã§â?ºÅ Ã¥»£Ã¦³â?ºÃ¤¹â?¹Tæ¤Ã¯¼Å?éâ?¡Ã§¹'Ã¥¸Æ?çâ?°Ã¥¸'Ã¥ ´Ã£â?¬'ä¸Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã©'â?¹Ã¦'¾Ã¥¤'è³â?¡Ã¥¾Å?ï¼Å?ä¸Ã¥°'ç´'Ã¥» ç´â?ºÃ§´â?ºÃ¨½â?°Ã§§»Ã¥Ë?°Ã¥... §Ã¥Å?°Ã¦°´Ã¦ºÃ¥... ... 足ä¹â?¹Ã¥Å?°Ã¥â?¬Ã¨¨Ã¥» ãâ?¬'Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿæ•... é'â?°Ã¤¸Å æµ·Ã¥±¬Ã¥¤§Ã¥Å¸Å½Ã¥¸'ï¼Å?缺ä¹Ã¨¨Ã¥» 件æ¢Ã¯¼Å?æ•... Ã¥¾Å¾1997Ã¥¹´Ã¨µ·Ã¯¼Å?è½â?°Ã§'ºÃ¥¾Å¾Ã¤ºâ?¹Ã¦Å •Ã¨³â?¡Ã¤ºâ?¹Ã¦¥Ã£â?¬'éâ?¬â?¬Ã¤¼'Ã¥¾Å?Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿä»Ã§â? ±Ã¥¿Æ?æ... Ë?Ã¥''Ã¥... ¬Ã¨·Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥Å?¨2007Ã¥¹´Ã¨Ë?â?¡Ã¦Å½Ã¤¿Ã§Å½²Ã¥¥³Ã¥£«Ã¥Å?¨Ã¦¸¯Ã©'â?¹Ã¨¾¦Ã¨Å ¹Ã¦... §Ã¤¸Ã¥¿Æ?ï¼Å?æä¾â?ºÃ¥°Ã¨â?¬Ã¥¹´Ã¤ººÃ£â?¬Å?以人ç'ºÃ¦Å?¬Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥®¶Ã¥ºÃ§'ºÃ©â?¡Ã£â?¬Ã§Å¡'ç... §Ã©¡§Ã£â?¬'ç¶' Lehman Brothers 証åË?¸Ã¨¡Å?Ã¥â?¬'é'â?°Ã¤ºâ?¹Ã¤»¶Ã¤¸â?¬Ã¥®³Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿæ'¼ 2008Ã¥¹´Ã©«'Ã¥¼±Ã¯¼Å?èâ?¬Å?ç¶'åéâ? «Ã¤½•Ã§¹¼Ã¨â?°¯Ã¨¨ºÃ¦'·Ã¦'£Ã¦... ¢Ã¦â?¬§Ã¨... Žç'... ï¼Å?éÅ?â?¬Ã¥... ¥Ã¤½Ã¤¹Ã©¾Ã¦³•Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã©â? «Ã©•¢Ã£â?¬'ç'¶Ã©•·Ã¦Å?Ÿæ´'è... Žèâ?¬... éâ?º£Ã¥... æÅ?â?¬Ã§µ'é«'åŠâ?ºÃ¨¡°Ã§«Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥â?¹µÃ¥... Ë?ç'Ÿæ'¼Ã¤¸Æ?æÅ?Ë?åäº'æ'¥Ã¨Ë?â?¡Ã¤¸'長è¾Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥Å?¨Ã¤¸Æ?æÅ?Ë?äºÅ?åä¸Æ?æ'¥Ã¨'¬Ã¦'¼Ã§¾Å½Ã¥Å?â?¹Ã¤¸â?°Ã¨'©Ã¥¸'ï¼Å?æ¸Ã¤¸»Ã¦â?¡·Ã¦Å ±Ã£â?¬'Ã¥'²Ã¤ººÃ¨¥¿Ã¥Å½»Ã¯¼Å?Ã¥... ¸Ã§¯'é•·Ã¥Ë?ï¼Å?çâ?°¹Ã¦¤Ã©Å Ë?è¨Ë?ï¼Å?以表追æâ?¬Ã£â?¬'
What’s your fondest memory of Yuan?
What’s a lesson you learned from Yuan?
Share a story where Yuan's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Yuan you’ll never forget.
How did Yuan make you smile?