It is with sadness but profound admiration that we announce the passing of Ching-Jygh Chen on December 9, 2023, at the age of 78. Diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer in 2020, he wrote a memoir, which concluded, “I am using every opportunity I have to enjoy life with my children and grandchildren… This is my life. Although somewhat challenging at the end, I have thoroughly enjoyed it.” And enjoy it he did. In three years, he took over 30 trips, to 12 countries, before finally joining his beloved, late wife. All six of his children and children-in-law and all seven of his grandchildren were at his bedside to wish him one final, wonderful journey.
Ching (or CJ, as he was known) was born on May 30, 1945, in Japanese-occupied Manchuria. With the end of World War II and the rise of communism in China, CJ fled, as an infant, to the small town of Douliu, Taiwan, where he spent his childhood. The youngest of seven, he recalled listening to his family’s gramophone record player as a child, the start of a lifelong interest in music and in high-end audio equipment. A top student and 1970 medical graduate of Taipei Medical University, he also found the time to enroll in oil painting classes at the National Taiwan University of Art as a medical student, the start of a lifelong interest in the visual arts.
He first met the love of his life, Lin-Lin Liu, very early, because his future father-in-law acted as his guarantor for secondary school studies in Taichung, Taiwan. When he met her again, while serving in the military near Taichung, they went on their first date. Both felt that their relationship was fated, they married on December 31, 1972, and both pursued careers in ophthalmology, while starting a family.
In 1976, CJ accepted a retinal fellowship at the University of Chicago. An opportunity to pursue an academic medical career in the United States followed, and the family immigrated. After three years in Chicago, CJ took a position on the ophthalmology faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, Mississippi. Over the 40 years that he served on the UMMC faculty, including 15 years as the department chair, CJ worked tirelessly to transform the department of ophthalmology. He introduced new equipment, new techniques, and an annual Update Conference. He hosted international speakers and trainees and emphasized research training alongside clinical training for the department’s residents. He oversaw the move of the department to a newly constructed eye clinic built to his specifications. As a practicing retina surgeon, he was an expert’s expert and a marvel of efficiency – someone who could somehow see one hundred patients a day, while also making all one hundred feel special. He often started his days at 5am but always appeared cheerful and impeccably dressed, often with a bow tie.
His energy was remarkable. Even with his busy professional schedule, he managed to serve for many years on the boards of the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi and the Symphony Orchestra of Mississippi. Many of his trainees must also remember the lively parties he and Lin hosted at their home.
In the last five years of his life, CJ faced the illness and death of his life partner, a once-in-a-century pandemic, and a diagnosis of incurable cancer in himself. He tackled these difficulties with his trademark take-charge, positive attitude. He retired and moved to San Jose, California, but remained invested in his former department, creating the Drs. Ching-Jygh and Lin Chen Endowed Chair for Excellence in Ophthalmology. He learned to cook gourmet meals. He returned to artistic pursuits – painting in oils and becoming an expert photographer and camera enthusiast. He was a present, supportive, enthusiastic Agong to his seven grandchildren, attending sports matches, musical recitals, blues jams, even while undergoing cancer treatments. He traveled extensively, sharing his travel photos and the perspectives gained in Luxor, Machu Picchu, Zambia, Varanasi, and many other “bucket list” destinations with his many friends.
CJ is survived by his children and their spouses, Alice Chen-Plotkin (Joshua Plotkin), Grace Chen Yu (Chen Yu), and Royce Chen (Elaine Shen Chen). He is also survived by seven beloved grandchildren: Linus and Phoebe Chen-Plotkin; Koby, Oscar, and Iris Yu; and Juno and Orion Chen. To these grandchildren, CJ imparted his five knuckle theory of life. He wrote that “to make life happy, you need to have some perspective on handling life and making it well-balanced. I think the best way to balance your life resembles how to make your hand work effectively. When you stick your hand out, you see five knuckles. To make a powerful punch, you need to have all knuckles working together and coordinating well.” The knuckles in CJ’s formulation were success in one’s professional life, a happy family, music, art, and health.
To the many who knew him as a doctor, mentor, husband, father, grandfather, or friend, his “punch” was truly larger than life, truly unforgettable.
