This blog has been created as a space to learn more about Julia's life, and for all to contribute their own memories of her. Please use the comment sections to post stories and remembrances from your time with Julia.
Julie is survived by her husband Li Tang, children Susan, Madeleine and Martin, and siblings Mary, David (Susan), and George (Bonnie Sue).
A year ago, I happened to read a poem, She is Gone, by British poet, David Harkins written in 1981.
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember I was deeply moved by it, not only for its comforting and soothing words but also for its spiritual messages about life and death.
Passing of my dear friend, Julia, made me read this poem again and again in tears. However, as I did more and more, amazingly I started to see Julia rising from the lines with her beautiful smile looking at me. As if, she said to me, “Xiaorong, don’t cry, smile, open your eyes, love, and go on”.
I'd like to share the poem with everyone who loved her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She is Gone
You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she has left
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember her and only that she is gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
她走了，你可以流泪
她活过了，你应该微笑；
你可以闭上眼睛，默默祈祷：回来吧
也可以睁开双眼，体会她留下的一切；
你可以因为不见她而心灵空荡
也可以让共有的爱充满心房；
你可以背对明天，沉溺于昨天
也可以拥抱明天，因为有过昨天；
你可以因为她走了而记住她
也可以珍藏她的记忆而让她永生；
你可以哭泣，关闭你的头脑，空无一物，忘掉一切
也可以遵她所瞩，睁眼微笑，热爱生活。
（意译，She is Gone by David Harkins）
Xiaorong, the poem well expressed all of our feelings. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteThank you for sharing this beautiful poem. This was very helpful for me. I will keep a copy and share as well.
ReplyDeleteDear Julia and Family,
ReplyDeleteI will always remember the day that she entered my classroom as a student teacher at Einstein High School. We had so much fun planning lessons, speaking in Chinese when we didn't want others to understand us, and learning to navigate a world that was so totally different from the World Bank (where we both had worked prior to trying our hand at teaching!)
I suggested that Julia should teach the unit on Agriculture because of her prior experience at the World Bank. She was enthusiastic and engaged; the students loved her quiet and easy going style. Even when grading papers, she was fair and even handed. Not only did she teach our students the key concepts of the unit, but she also taught them to write good papers.
One of the things that Julia taught was the commercial processing of chickens in the United States (it was part of the curriculum!) That year, the AP exam included a question on chicken processing and we were both delighted that she had magnificently prepared the students for the exam. At the end of the year, I gave Julia a basket full of goodies for a new teacher, and ...a Rotisserie Chicken gift certificate for a family dinner (when she would be too tired to cook!)
Since 2004, we became more friends than colleagues, meeting for coffee at Starbucks or Panera's to chat about jobs, raising children, and our travels to China and Argentina.
The last time I saw Julia was in August, 2011, when she helped me with a project. I will always regret the fact that our family and travel schedules prevented us from getting together more often since last August. Her passing made me reach out to friends and family whom I have not contacted in a long time. Yes, even in death Julia was teaching me a lesson: to cherish my loved ones, and to remember with fondness those friends whose life touched ours with joy and laughter but who are no longer with us.
Julia, I will miss you. I send my love and support to Li Tang, Maddie, Martin and Susan and to your siblings.
Lili
Youtube link to the video used in the memorial service is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A-QsY0YB-s. This video has HD resolution, better than the DVD version shown during the service.
ReplyDeleteDear Tang and family,
ReplyDeleteI cannot find suitable words to express my sorry to hear that Julia had passed away. With limited contact with her, I feel she had been such a warm-hearted person, like a fire, so all friends around her feels her passion and energy.
When my family just moved to the neighborhood and I was looking for some summer swimming opportunities, I was told about Julia's name and phone number for Stone Bridge swimming club. I noticed her last name was Li, so when called her, I first asked, "Do you speak Chinese?" She said she did in some accent, and told me all about the swimming club in Chinese. I thought she might be from Hong Kong or Taiwan due to her accent, but towards the end of our conversation, she told me she was an American, but was married to a Chinese man. I was so surprised by her fluent Chinese speaking. We chatted some more, feeling more like a friend.
The first time I saw Julia in person was at your home. A friend told me about a gathering of your Baha’i group and would like to introduce the belief to me. I went with my kids. I was impressed by the warmth welcome from your family, by the calm and patience from Julia. I felt we've already been friends for a long time. She seemed to have such a rich mind and many inspiring ideas; I really loved to talk with her.
Within the four years my family lived in the neighborhood, the times I saw Julia in person are limited, since both my kids swim not with Stone Bridge club but Rockville, and the kids have different grades in Stonemill ES. We've been to some concerts at Strathmore. I would like to go to her seminars sometimes, but due to many other scheduling conflicts I ended up not going.
It seems Julia was active on Facebook. Sometimes we greet each other there. We would like to bike around the neighborhood together when the weather was good, since we could both work from home, but we had never done that once. I loved her profile picture on Facebook, round face, sparkling eyes. But how she looked at the last time I saw her shocked me.
After a friend told me about her illness, I went to see her only once. How I wish I went more. I got her some flowers from my front garden, some steamed buns and fresh made soy milk. When I saw her, I barely recognized her. It seems that she lost so much weight her face got so narrow, only leaving her big eyes. She was still warm and we talked for half an hour or so. We talked about the kids, life and friends. She was in almost tears when she told me she was moved by friends around who showed care for her after she got sick. I told her because you were such a good friends to everybody, you like a shining star to shine on the others and everybody likes to return their love to you. She even mentioned she would love to have friends over to talk about the meaning of life, or the life after death. I said you should take more time resting, but she said she really liked to listen to friends. I am glad she had such a strong belief and had done so many good things, and she must not fear about leaving us. She is gone from our ordinary life but I believe she will live happily in heaven as well as deep in our heart.
Dear Li Tang and Family, I just learned of the devastating news of Julia's passing. I cannot express how sad I am. I will always remember Julia from Nanjing. She had a special spirit and had a truly kind heart. After I lost a loved one suddenly someone gave me some good advice. Remember his life, not how he died. And Julia had, albeit short, a life full of love and accomplishments. The world is a sadder place without Julia. Ruth
ReplyDeleteI am deeply sorry to learn of Julia's death. I had the honor to work with Julia at Gaithersburg High School when she taught World History. Among all of my friends, I have to say that Julia had the gentlest spirit. This made it hard for Julia to handle the rough and tumble of teaching high school kids, but they could not help but respect and like her. This is a very great loss. I am so sorry. Nancy McCullough
ReplyDelete