Kam Yim White

Kam Yim White, also known as Ann White to some, passed away on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Her life was a success story, because she started with nothing and brought so much richness for herself and those she loved throughout her life. Kam Yim grew up very poor in Hong Kong, with only one rice bowl to share between herself and her three brothers and sisters many days. Being the big sister, she would often forgo her portion, saying she already had some and was not hungry. Kam Yim was a born protector, who threatened to beat up those that bullied classmates that were different or poor in Hong Kong. She proudly shared the story that one of those children she protected, a girl who smelled and had very little money too, turned out to be a movie star in Hong Kong who later thanked her for her kindness. When Kam Yim was a little girl, her father had a "reading" from someone who read head bumps. That person told my grandfather that his daughter would meet a great man and go somewhere far away with him. That person was right. Kam Yim married Fred White, Jr., and enjoyed 43 beautiful years together. Kam Yim was a wonderful cook who often liked to make Thanksgiving and Christmas a true event with traditional foods and her specialty Chinese dishes as well. People loved to attend because they knew they'd be eating well that day. Kam Yim loved her job as a head custodian and was endlessly generous with whatever she could share. During her time at Hewitt Elementary, she saved discarded school supplies and gave them to the poor children whom she saw had nothing. She saved the Christmas trees that teachers threw in the trash and gave them to the teachers who had nothing to celebrate Christmas with that year, on the sly. Kam Yim worked hard all of her life to provide for her family. She cleaned houses, catered food, and still did her day job without complaint. She always wanted to provide the Christmas and Easter basket goodies for her children that she never had herself. Her daughter would often walk into the kitchen in the morning and find her almost falling asleep as she rolled the last of the egg rolls for a catering order. But Kam Yim always kept going. Kam Yim's greatest joy in life was her family. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Fred. L. White, Jr. who died in 2012 after 43 years of marriage. Kam Yim is survived by her son, Lee (Rachel), and daughter Melody (Ophir); five beautiful grandchildren: Jake, Jackson, Faith, Madalen, and Autumn, her loving mother Bik Yuk Chu; her brother Alain (Anita) and their children David and Sophia, brother Anthony (Viva), and sister Annie, to whom she was like a mother; as well as her Aunt Maria (Robert) and their children Florence, Grace and Cecilia. Kam Yim White was a high energy, big-hearted, loud-voiced, baby loving, sweet-hearted friend, mother, and confidant to all those who knew her. She will be sorely missed.

Kam Yim White

February 16, 1948 - March 4, 2015