From the US 

Sharing by Dr Stephen P Shelton (during the Memorial Service in US)

In the 1930s, Kim Yeow Chua set out across the South China Sea in search of a better life. In the early days he transported cocoa from the plantations in Indonesia to ports of call for shipment to Europe and the Americas. The stories of Mr. Chua and Koon Meng told about life under the Japanese occupation of Indonesia reflected in my mind as images of the adventures of Bogart and Hepburn navigating the Africa Queen in the waters of the Umgabi in the German occupied jungles of Central Africa. After WWII Kim Yeow Chua immigrated to Singapore in colonial Malaysia to trade cocoa, build a life and to have a family. His last two children, born in the 1950s, were Koon Meng and Koon Hean, who is here today representing Koon Meng’s parents.

 Koon Meng grew up in evolutionary Singapore, a remarkable place that over his childhood transitioned from a colony of Great Britain, to a Malay province, to an independent city-state. His family experienced the poverty of China in the 1930s through the third-world colonial Singapore of the mid-20^th century to one of the strongest first world trade and commerce centers of the 21^st century. From these experiences, Koon Meng acquired an eclectic world-view of what was really possible with strong will and hard work. This force of character could be seen in the energy and tenacity applied to work and hobby alike. His leadership-by-example provided an inner strength valued by students, colleagues and friends alike.

 This effect on a former friend and colleague was evidenced just last night in an e-mail that I received from Frank Williams, now a vice president of the University of Alaska. Frank and I were department chairs in engineering at UNM in the late 1980s when Koon Meng was a young assistant professor. Frank moved to Alaska in 1992 and his only interactions with Koon Meng since he moved have been the occasional email. Quoting from Frank’s email :

 "I have put a special time on my calendar to remember (Koon Meng) during the service tomorrow. Even his death has served to teach me something about life, in addition to all the other times I have gone back to the basic principles he helped forge into my value system".

He has helped many of us `forge’ good fundamental principles into our value system.

Hear lies the body of Koon Meng Chua

He was a man of Asia

He was a man of America

He was a man of God

He was my friend

He will be missed

 Dr Stephen P Shelton  

****

The University of New Mexico

Memorial Minute for Koon Meng Chua

Presented by Tim J. Ward

On Friday 14 February 2003, Dr. Koon Meng Chua, Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, passed away. His loss is felt by all in the department and the engineering community at large. Professor Chua was 47 years old.

Professor Chua earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Texas A&M University in 1986. Preceding his doctoral degree, Dr. Chua received a B. Eng. Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Singapore in 1980 and a MSCE degree from Texas A&M University in 1983. He joined UNM in 1988 as an assistant professor. Dr. Chua was a registered professional engineer in Texas and a Fellow of the American Society of Engineers. He had engineering design experience with the Texas Transportation Institute and Brown and Root Far East Engineers. This practical experience helped him bring the reality of the profession into the classroom. Dr. Chua's areas of expertise included geotechnical engineering and pavement engineering. He had numerous areas of interest and had published on highway pavements, (simulated) Martian and Lunar soils, foundations for structures, and applications of finite-element analyses. This semester, Dr. Chua was teaching undergraduate soil mechanics and a graduate course in highway materials. He was also serving on the Faculty Senate as a School of Engineering representative.

Koon Meng will be remembered by his colleagues for his dedication and contributions to the civil engineering profession, his high standards, and his multifaceted research interests. Koon Meng will be missed.

****

Prelude

 I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

                                                -  Robert Frost

"The Road Not Taken" 

The Rocket Scientist

 He never ceased to amaze me,
this inquisitor of the outer realms. 

In spaceships of all shapes and sizes
would he ascend to the heavens,
exploring uncharted galaxies,
ever searching for the undiscovered,
pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. 

I once ventured to ask,
"Why do you do it?"
Even though his excitement was evident enough,
he replied,
in the same composed manner
typical of his kind,
"Because it is there."

 "and..."

before I could protest
at his non-answer,
"... because there is so much about it
that we don't understand."

 "... and probably never will!"
I added,
with a mischievous grin.
I thought he wouldn't have noticed,
but he did,
a knowing smile appearing on his lips. 

At times,
I would sit and listen,
as he patiently explained
the subtle details
of his ground-breaking research.

Gradually,
this sceptic was taught
to appreciate the beauty
of this precise art
that is science. 

When not seduced by his work,
he was busy probing into
the affairs of other intellectuals.
It was hard matching up to
his enthusiasm,
his eternal thirst for knowledge,
but enough of it was infused,
forming a vivid impression –
the image of passion and intellect. 

If there was even the slightest suspicion
that all men of science were Godless,
this man would be your rebuke.
Just as the laws of physics governed his work,
so the laws of the Lord his life.

 Whatever the circumstance,
whatever the odds,
this I learnt from him,
"There is no accident in life;
only that which God allows."
Ironically,
much knowledge bred
much humility bred
much love
and unwavering trust.

This trust, I'm sure,
he was thankful for.
As a compulsive risk-taker,
clearing a path of his own,
this adventurer knew full well,
exactly what he was going into,
and went headlong
into the fray.
His escapades into space
were not without their problems;
"It isn't as carefree as you might think."
he retorted,
when asked if I could join him
on his little joyride. 

So I tried again,
pleading, then, for him to stay,
(since it took so much out of him)
"... just a little longer?"
but he politely declined.
Looking into his eyes,
I saw that to clip his wings
would be to starve his spirit. 

So this brave soul
went it alone,
a Maverick
in his own right.
Championing a cause
that would benefit all mankind.
Nevertheless,
his fantastical flights into space
were never accompanied by the fanfare
deserving of a National Hero.
Quietly he left.
Quietly he worked.
Quietly he returned.
Quietly,
I resolved to be just like him. 

Maybe I forgot to tell you
how long his trips would last.
They were certainly not short,
to say the least.
And,
they seemed to get
longer
            and
longer
            and
longer
            and
from his last trip,
he hasn't returned... 

He didn't say goodbye.
He didn't say goodbye.
The truth is,
He never said goodbye. 

But this he said instead –
an unwritten note,
a tender whisper,
to all he so truly loved –
That he will be waiting,
Waiting to see us again in heaven. 

The truth is,
He didn't need to say goodbye. 

- John Lin

               In Loving Memory of my Godpa

****

I first met Koon Meng in March '77 at a Leadership Training Institute organised by Campus Crusade for Christ. When I first met him, I thought he looked kind of familiar and I only knew why when he was introduced by his friends as 'Pink Panther', a nickname he sportingly accepts. But as I got to know him, I began to appreciate the person beneath this superficial outer veneer.

 Koon Meng, my Christian brother and my friend, is a man who loves his God and his friends. He takes his faith in Jesus seriously and is willing to take a stand for what he believes to be true. As a friend, we had good times together and I particularly enjoy his wit and sense of humour. Though he has been away from Singapore for a long time, I had the privilege to "touch base" with him again last year when I visited him while he was recovering from his cancer at home.

 Tonight, many of his friends will or have shared their thoughts and feelings about him. Rather than doing the same, I would like to share what the Koon Meng I know, would have wanted me to share at his memorial service. I still speak of Koon Meng in the present tense because I believe, like he does, that he is still alive, although in a different time and space. 

 Jesus tells us in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life", and He also tells us in John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life".

 Koon Meng believed Jesus and has accepted Him as His Saviour and Lord many years ago, and therefore, has eternal life since then. Eternal life or everlasting life lasts forever, and does not stop at physical death. Contrary to what the world thinks, Koon Meng did not cross over from the land of the living to the land of the dying. Conversely, he crossed over from the land of the dying to the land of the living.

 Most of us dress according to the occasion. When I drive my son to school in the morning, I just put on a T-shirt, shorts and sandals. When I get home, I take off my T-shirt, shorts and sandals, and put on my shirt, long pants and shoes to go to the office. In like manner, when Koon Meng passed away physically on 14 February 2003, he took off this physical body of his which had been ravaged by illnesses and put on his new and perfect body to live forever in heaven. 2 Cor 5:1 tells us that "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."

 Tonight, we can all take comfort in that while we may miss him, he is really in a much better place and in a better state of health than the healthiest of us here. So, to his parents, siblings, nephews and nieces, godson and god-daughter, and friends, you have not lost a dear son, a brother, an uncle, a godfather and a friend, because he is alive and well in heaven.

 One of my favourite speakers, Vance Havner once said that you have not lost someone if you know where that person is. If I took my son to a shopping mall and he wandered off and I cannot find him, I can say I have lost him. But if I went there on my own and my son is at home, I cannot say that I have lost my son even though he is not with me because I know where he is.

 In the same way, even though Koon Meng is no longer with us, we have not lost him because we know where he is, that he is home with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 One day, for those of us who know Jesus as Saviour and Lord, when it is our turn to lay down our physical bodies in exchange for new heavenly ones, and as we walk on streets of gold towards the pearly gates of Heaven, I am sure that Koon Meng will be there with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and our Christian family members and friends who have gone before us, to welcome us home with open arms and his trademark grin. I look forward to that day. Amen.    

                             Joey Yeo

From the Old Rafflesians Website
http://www.rafflesian.com/koonmeng/submit.cfm

Prof (Dr) Koon Meng Chua was born on 23rd April 1955 in Singapore. He graduated from the National University of Singapore in civil engineering and received both his MS and PhD in Civil Engineering at Texas A&M before joining the faculty of the University of New Mexico in 1988. He is known in the United States and internationally for his research in the area of geotechnical engineering and is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Koon Meng attended Raffles Institution from 1968 to 1973. He was active in Campus Crusade for Christ during his undergraduate years and is also an active member of the Methodist Church. Koon Meng passed away on 14 Feb 2003 in Albuquerque, USA, leaving behind many good friends in both the USA and Singapore. Service was held in Albuquerque USA on 20th Feb 2003. A memorial service will be held in Singapore on 2nd March 2003 at 7:30pm in:

Charis Methodist Church
91 Koon Seng Road
Singapore 427032
Tel : 6344-6359 (H)

Cheong Fook Weng

Mon, 3 Mar 2003 1:28 PM 
Met Yong Chuang sometime end of last year and was told that Koon Meng was having some kind of a treatment. Never know that a cheerful classmate and a comrade in the Red Cross would have just left so silently. Those who had worked with him in the Red Cross, would truly miss him.......