Another Death…
March 24th, 2003
I just found out today that one of my best buddies from high school died. What’s with death-related things coming around on my birthday man? Last year, I spent my birthday at my uncle’s funeral in Fairfax, VA. Anyhow, press read more if you want to hear the crazy story of how this guy died. It feels so unreal, yet it is. I’ve already contacted his family, and my high school class alums are organizing a memorial service for him this weekend. Press more…
UPDATE: a scholarship fund has been established in his honor…
I really valued Ed’s friendship. In fact, he was the person who brought me back to God. Sophomore year in high school, he simply asked me to go to his church retreat. Then I started going to his church, and have found myself again with God.
It’s completely bizzare how he died though. Anyhow, I’m going to go to the memorial that’s planned this weekend… For those Holmdel High School Alumni that are looking for details I’ll post more info as it comes.
Edward S. Chen
1980-2003
Due to sensitivity I truncated some information that was in this email
-Eddie———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 16:55:32 -0800
From: Charles Wang
To:
Subject: The Passing of Edward S. ChenIt is with great sadness and regret that we inform you that Ed Chen
passed away this last Tuesday, the 18th of March.[email truncated] Tuesday morning, he lost his balance and fell [off a cliff] while taking pictures near Monterey, California. His family held a small local service this past Friday, the 21st.
We remember Ed as a man who was filled with energy and passion for life, always doing, always giving, always smiling. We ask that you take a moment and remember Ed for the part he played in your life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
We will all miss Ed greatly.
Charles, Davin, Matt, Zahid, and Albert
Ed’s Senior Year Roommates
UPDATE:
Memorial Services for Edward S. Chen
Saturday, March 29th, 2:00 PM
Holmdel High School CommonsEdward S. Chen: Holmdel High School Class of 1997 Valedictorian, Harvard Class of 2001, Employee of Intel. Voted “most likely to succeed.” A man of God who loved everyone and everything, a friend of all people. He had a passion for life and took on every opportunity and challenge to succeed. You will be greatly missed my friend…
A scholarship fund in his name is in the works (Thanks Lissa & Mani) and more information will be posted here as I get it. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Also if you have a better picture of Ed Chen that’s recent, please send it to me so I can post it here. Thank you.
Best Wishes,
-Edmund J. Song
At 12:16 PM 3/25/2003 Mani Daneshmand
wrote:
Dear Friends,
I am e-mailing you regarding Ed Chen. As you may or
may not be aware he was living out in San Jose,
California working for Intel Corp. He was near
Monterey, California when he lost his balance,
slipped, and fell. Ed passed away on March 18th, 2003
in California. His family held a small memorial
service for him in Salinas, California on March 21st,
2003.We, his friends, should all come together to celebrate
his wonderful life. There will be a memorial service
for him this Saturday March 29th, 2003 in the Holmdel
High School Commons starting at 2 PM. Anyone who is
around or can make it should come.Ed was a friend to all of us. He was kind, smart, and
generous. He will be dearly missed not only by the
Class of 1997 but also by everyone whose path crossed
his during his short but truly wonderful life.It is only fitting that in Ed’s memory, we as a class
endow an annual award for a Holmdel High School Senior who most closely resembles the qualities and virtues that hallmarked Ed Chen. More information regarding this award will be available on Saturday at the memorial service.In the interim, anyone with questions or suggestions
can feel free to either e-mail me at
daneshma@mail.amc.edu or page me at 518-343-1009.With the help of Lissa, I have tried to include
everyone in our class on this e-mail but we only have
the information of about 100 people. If people could
let other people know we would be very appreciative.I am sorry for your loss and hope to seen many of you
on Saturday.Sincerely Yours,
Mani A. Daneshmand
UPDATE2: Harvard has posted more information HERE
Former Kirkland Resident, Entrepreneur, Dies at 23
By ELLA A. HOFFMAN
Crimson Staff WriterEdward P. Chen ’01, entrepreneur, stock trader and an “ebullient” former Kirkland House resident died of a fall in California on Mar. 18. He was 23.
Friends said that medication Chen was taking for bipolar disorder may have affected his balance and contributed to his fatal fall from a 150-ft. cliff near Carmel, Calif.Friends remember Chen for being outgoing and kind-spirited, and say they were shocked to hear of his illness and death.
“He was one of those people who brightens your day,” said Amy Chen ’01, who was not related to Edward Chen.
Kirkland House Master Tom Conley said Chen was an “ebullient” member of the House and “liked to talk about everything from physics and letters to baseball.”
“He loved life,” Conley said.
Chen suffered a nervous breakdown in January and spent several weeks in the hospital.
He recovered enough to return to his job as a financial analyst for Intel Corporation in March, friends said.
Before returning to work, he joined his parents on a family vacation to visit cousins in Oregon.
On the return drive to his home in San Jose, he stopped at a scenic lookout overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Carmel.
His body was found at the foot of the cliff.
His camera case, which was found in his car, was empty, suggesting to friends and family that he might have stopped to take a photograph of the view.
Chen, an economics concentrator, started a company called BizTech Enterprizes while at Harvard.
“The company was Ed’s idea, but he always wanted to share his successes with others,” John Marshall ’01 said.
Encouraged by his successful investment of a gift of money given to him by his parents upon graduating from high school, Chen applied his money-managing talents to his company.
The company provided investment services and educational consulting.
When after-school programs in his hometown of Holmdel, N.J. were threat ened, Chen offered his company’s services to support them.
Despite the time he gave to running BizTech and managing his personal portfolio, Chen played an active role in Harvard Model Congress while at Harvard.
He joined the organization during his first year and rose through the ranks, running committees and eventually holding the position of expert witness and senior staffer, said Amy Chen.
Chen also tutored for the Chinatown after-school program through the Phillips Brooks House and was a member of the Chinese Students Association.
He represented Kirkland House in tennis, volleyball basketball intramural competitions, Marshall said.
Brian C. Sze ’03, who was three years behind Chen at Holmdel High School, remembered getting trounced by him at tennis during competitions three times a week one summer.
“He beat me every single time. I would maybe beat him in one set every 20 or 30 matches,” said Sze, who viewed Chen as a “older brother” figure.
Chen is survived by his father, who works at Lucent Technologies, his mother and a younger brother Jeffrey, who is a senior at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Memorial services were held at his high school on March 29, which were attended by more than 100 people, according to Sze.
—Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@fas.harvard.edu.
March 25th, 2003 at 11:22 am
Hello everyone. Please use this guest book to sign your condolences to Edward Chen’s family or memories of Ed Chen. After next week, I will print out the final entries and mail them to his family to offer our condolences.
March 25th, 2003 at 1:23 pm
EDWARD S CHEN
Class of 1997- Holmdel High School
Died March 18, 2003
Rest in peace brother.
Graduated from Harvard in 2001.
A man of great and noble accomplishments and outstanding moral courage. A good, personal friend. Ed will always be remembered for his attention to people. I remember talking with him about the future of America, of society, of right and wrong. Of large things and small things. Always making sure that our whole class had everything it needed to be the best. He is a model for us all. The kind to be remembered for generations to come.
March 25th, 2003 at 3:24 pm
Ed,
I remember I used to talk with you about my plans for the future. You were always soo supportive. You are and will always be an inspiration to everyone you have ever met..
Thank You,
Phillip D. Champagne, USAF
March 25th, 2003 at 3:47 pm
Ed was a model well rounded student for all high school students. The thing i remember most about him was his big smile that he sported. It is unfortunate when a young man loses his life, and it is important that his close friends and class mates remember him for who he was. Condolences to his family and close friends.
Insp. Bradford Slutsky
March 25th, 2003 at 5:29 pm
Ed was always welcoming with a warm smile and a friendly hello. I’ll never forget challenging him to a battle of the wits in the cafeteria one day, I thought hey, if I study a topic enough I can be as smart as him. What was I thinking?!?! He was definitly the smartest person I know, outside of book knowledge. He was smart about how to treat people, how to be happy, how to live life and how to love and be loved by his family, friends, and peers. I just hope that in return he knew how loved he was and how much he touched all of us.
March 26th, 2003 at 5:59 pm
I never really had the pleasure of actually sitting down with ED and having a heart to heart conversation, but I will tell you this. Some people have the ability to make you feel good, without having to say or do anything to or for you. I remember Ed always with a smile on his face. He was a pleasure to be around, and he would have made a great impact on soceity. I am terribly sorry for the loss, and hope that in his name great things will be accomplished by his closest friends and family. Rest In Peace
March 27th, 2003 at 10:34 am
So rarely is the combination of intelligence, compassion, and determination that we were all blessed enough to experience through Ed found in this world. He will be sorely missed by countless numbers of people, but some solace can be found in the realization that he contributed more to the world and those around him in 23 short years than most of us could hope to in 100.
May his memory live on in the compassionate and notable achievements of his friends and family.
March 27th, 2003 at 11:42 am
Brilliance without arrogance, Charity without recognition, Ambition without ruthlessnesses.
These are a few of the many qualities Ed exhibited, and while the world is poorer now for having lost him, the lasting impressions he made will leave us richer.
March 27th, 2003 at 2:43 pm
I was only lucky enugh to have known Ed for about a year and half while we worked together here at Intel. And that warm & wonderful smile you’ve all mentioned has been his trademark since the day that I met him. He’s the only person I’ve ever known that could carry on a conversation about the dullest of topics on a Monday morning with a smile on his face the entire time. It’s that happy smile that I will miss the most and it was something to be cherished. I think someone in this guestbook said it best… he embodied “brilliance without arrogance”. A genuine personality with a heart large enough to carry the weight of the world. He will be missed here at Intel. The world was made a better place having had him in it.
March 29th, 2003 at 9:11 am
God gave us privilege to be with Edward during his vacation, March 1st to 17th, 2003 in Oregon. It was a tremendous blessing for us to enjoy him. He was loving, gentle, humble, and content. To be specific, the last two weeks of his life was like apostle Paul says in Galatians 5: 22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Edward held fast on this verse. He counted each day as God’s blessing. Many times when we praised him or encouraged him, he would just simply replied “It is God’s grace.”
Indeed, God’s grace and power transformed him and completed him. Which reminded me what the scripture says in 2Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness”, We saw him tried to depend on the Lord each day. Very often He quoted what Jesus said in Matthhew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself, Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
During that two weeks, he mowed the lawn for grandpa, played puzzle with grandma, walked daily with his mom, chatted with his dad and brother on the phone, washed dishes after meals, delighted in all the home made food, taught our kids math and tennis, read the Bible every morning, enjoyed singing hymns with all of us (especially Amazing Grace and Great Is Thy Faithfulness), played bridge with families, and many other activities.
We mourn and grief, for we miss Edward, our beloved nephew, greatly. Yet, we also have hope, the hope that we will see him again in God’s glory. As Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him (Christ Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Aunt Judy for families in Oregon,
April 3rd, 2003 at 10:52 am
As I read all the postings, I echo vibrantly every single comment posted of Ed’s character and nature. It was a year ago, towards the end of March we 1st met. Little would I have imagined it would be the beginning of everything, my life w/ Ed. I cannot help but still, at moments weep and grieve greatly for Ed. I love him so much.
I share w/ you who he was to me through my heart as his girlfriend. only in time did I realize his brilliant and beautiful mind that God had gifted him. He amazed me w/ his intellect–his passion for history, politics, current events. He shared w/ me his grand visions and dreams to contribute greatly in society. But what I tenderly cup deeply is that the part of Ed I fell in love with was his loving heart to me. He revealed himself first with his genuine and good nature before he brought me to see his intellect world. He was always honest and true to who he was. I saw how much he loved his family and relatives. As our relationship grew, he displayed his love and kindness to me. He was a perfect gentleman, kind and gentle, sweet to me. He was my big, sweet ‘teadybear’. And yes, from the beginning I loved that cute “smile” of his. I miss him so much. Forever I will keep in a special place of heart and memories all the moments I had spent with Ed.
My tears have flown. Monterey and Carmel was our very 1st trip we took together last summer. The landscape and ocean side is serene and beautiful. I remember that wonderful time we had. That was the place we took our very 1st pictures together.
I feel a big part of my heart has died. I last saw Ed the day before he left for Oregon to be with relatives. For now, life seems a bit difficult, but I also have that inner peace and happiness Ed is at a better place and believing that hope, (I know I will see you again one day) that those in Christ have eternal life w/ God.
***(Ed, we are each other’s 1st true love. Bidding you farewell is most heart-wrenching. Before coming to CA, you wanted to go to New York after your graduation, but you were lead to CA. I remember what you said to me one day–that you came out here for work, but that there was something more, that there is a purpose for things happening the way they do (God has His purposes) and now you know why, because you had found me. I found you too. Growing up worlds apart, who would have known that a window opened up for us. We found each other. I thank God for giving us but a moment of a time of true love and happiness. Ed, I love you)
April 4th, 2003 at 12:30 pm
To begin, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the Chen family – I’m sure that no one could begin to understand all that you’ve had to go through. Continue to find strength in God, and trust in Him through every situation though it may be hard.
Ever since I’ve known Ed, throughout middle school and high school, he was always very friendly and always took time to talk. As has been repeated before, he was definitely one of the most intelligent people I’ve known, and he will be greatly missed. The world did not get a chance to see what Ed could have done.
After hearing the news and getting a chance to think, I’d like to share a story about Ed that I will always remember. I moved to Holmdel back in 1990 when I was 10, just about to enter the 4th grade. It turns out that I moved into the same neighborhood as Ed and his family, just one street over and a short walk away. But anyway, one the first day of 4th grade, the bus came around to my stop, and being one of the last stops, there weren’t many seats left. So not knowing anyone, I just sat down in the first available seat next to someone. It turns out that someone was Ed (going to the 5th grade), and he was one of the first people I met in Holmdel.
To this day I still remember that conversation vividly. I remember relaxing because I was nervous about the first day of school in a new town. And I even remember the conversation – we talked about how the Voyager satellite had just recently left our solar system, and about how cool we thought that was.
I share this because that was the first time I met Ed, and even from that beginning through our time together in high school, Ed had the ability to put people at ease. He knew what he was talking about, confident in himself, and able to apply that toward bettering himself and others around him. Take care Ed, we’ll miss you.
April 6th, 2003 at 4:47 pm
I am truly sorry, I remember Ed from the high school paper as an intelligent, and hard-working individual. He will be missed.
May 6th, 2003 at 7:47 pm
I used to attend the same adult fellowship with Ed’s parents back a few years ago. Later on, they switched to another church and we did not see each other very often. During Thanksgiving holiday in 1999, my nephew Jeff from California came by for the holidays and I was sending him back to Harvard Univ, we met Ed and Ed’s parents at the NJ Metro train station. At the time, my nephew was a freshman and Ed was a sophomore. We were all excited seeing one another and I introduced Jeff to Ed thinking they might become friends after going back to Boston. That was the happy occasion that the life was full of promises. I felt very sad to hear the news about Ed. At times, I felt as if I were losing a son. I’d like to tell Helen and YunKan that Ed will be in our memory forever. Knowing that Ed is in God’s hand will keep us going on with a life that Ed would want us to live.
With continuous prayers,
S Ellen Tang
August 18th, 2003 at 7:49 am
I’ve needed a few months to absorb what has passed … and I’m still overwhelmed by the impossiblity of Ed Chen’s dying. How could it be that someone so strong, so talented, and so giving, could die? It was not fair. ******* so painful) is the fact that he was a very specific individual with a very specific life. He had his buddies, his girlfriend, his family … funny experiences and little adventures that will be remembered and cherished by a few people for the rest of their lives. Can’t we all relate to this? Ed was just like all of us, except that while we are here, he is not. And that is why this is so sad.
I have a message to all who knew Ed, and to the people with whom I grew up: Our accomplishments and failures are miniscule when compared to the relationships we build with the people around us. Forget your grudges. Forgive others for their mistakes and forgive yourself for yours. Build a family, gather your friends, and treasure your time together. And most importantly, let people know that you love them.
I miss you Ed.