Seth Goldberg
Tribute to Alex Chun
Seth Goldberg
Tribute to Alex Chun
Seth Goldberg
Tribute to Alex Chun
Matt Chu
My cousin Alex: A lover of life A dancer A musician A healer A beautiful soul Love, Matt
Melissa Godar
I did not know Alex D. Chun personally...but I have met both of his parents who have introduced me to the memory of Alex...I can see the unconditional love and belief that they have had in him even to this day! Because of this interaction I now think of him as an iconic and beautiful individual to have influenced so many with his works and his personality.As I listened to his performances of "The Rose" and "Annie's song" written by John Denver at a gathering of friends I felt the desire to download these songs by Alex and I'd really appreciate if these works could be uploaded or emailed to me at mgodar.mg@gmail.com.
Amanda Brown Evans
For Alex -- A testimonial given at Living Angels: A Program of Love for Alex Chun ’08 Sunday, May 27th, 2018 at Oberlin College. Hi everyone, my name is Amanda. I met Alex in high school in Rochester, NY. We were both late transfers to a very small private school — me for junior and senior year and Alex only for senior year — and we quickly became friends. I was relieved and happy to find out he would also be coming to Oberlin for college. As Edna and Jay were putting the book together, Edna shared an excerpt from the message I wrote in Alex’s yearbook our senior year: “You’re such an awesome person, Alex. Incredibly generous and so friendly. You always surprise me by your constant happiness.” My adolescent words were simple, but their meaning is still true. Alex was remarkably kind and open-hearted. He had a brightness of spirit that was palpable and a gentleness that put others at ease. In all the time that I knew him, I can’t remember him ever speaking ill of anyone. It’s clear from my unsophisticated 18-year-old words that I admired his natural capacity for compassion and his positive presence from the beginning of our friendship. As Maya Angelou wrote, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. People will never forget how you made them feel.” When I think about Alex, the first thing I remember was his warmth. He was the kind of person who made you feel completely comfortable, just as you were, who gave you his full attention, who listened deeply, and made you feel seen. When I was with Alex, I felt completely safe being myself. Our friend, Rachel, told me she still remembers seeing Alex with his dad and mom on a visit they made to Oberlin. She told me she was struck by his respectful and caring nature with them. I think these are some of the qualities that drew people to Alex. And why he had so many friends from so many different social groups and periods of his life. Alex had an unusual maturity about him…both a reverence and an appreciation for others, but also a delightfully goofy and silly side. I remember many moments laughing uncontrollably with Alex over our shared tendency to procrastinate and stress, cramming for a neuroscience exam, or some silly thing. Once, a few years after we graduated from Oberlin, I was living in Atlanta for graduate school and Alex was in Florida either in PA school or already working as a PA by then. And one day an unexpected package appeared at my house. When I opened it up, I found this box, artistically painted in orange and grey, with blue and pink highlights — I can see it now vividly — with a comic book likeness of me painted on the top of the box, wearing a jacket, with the words, “Amanda’s Long Lost Jacket.” Inside the box was a jacket I must have left in his car or at his house years before, which I had long forgotten. I was blown away. Alex could’ve easily thrown or given away the jacket whenever it turned up and I would never have known the difference. Or even simply mailed it unceremoniously to me after all those years. But he made something ordinary into something playful that made me feel special and cared about (and of course made me laugh). I don’t have the jacket anymore, but I still have Alex’s box. I use it now as a container for soothing items in my work with therapy patients when they need something comforting or something to fidget with. It may sound silly, but this story to me is one clear example of Alex’s remarkable thoughtfulness. But perhaps my fondest memories of Alex are the many heart to heart conversations we had. Alex had a depth to him…an ability to introspect and connect beyond the superficial. He was a beautiful soul and a dear, trusted friend. I can only hope and trust that Alex knew how much he was loved and how many lives he touched. This event is such a clear expression of that. I am deeply grateful to be here and to be able to honor Alex today. My wish for all of us is that we can each embody his generous and compassionate spirit in our own lives, and that we can honor Alex by making others feel how he made us feel.