Sadness and Sunshine : Relatives, Friends Fondly Remember Victim of Kobe Quake at Funeral

There were tears, hymns and sorrowful embraces at Voni Lynn Wong’s funeral Friday morning.

But then there was sunshine.

Just as Pastor Jess Moody reassured Wong’s family that their daughter and sister had left this world for a better one, the sun broke out from behind a bank of clouds, illuminating and warming more than 300 mourners on what had been a chilly, overcast day in the Hollywood Hills.

Despite the sorrow of the occasion, Wong’s family was resolutely joyous, their unshakable faith in God carrying them through the trials of the past days.

“This is a great celebration day!� cried Wong’s father, Henry, 65, of Van Nuys. “She’s here. She’s buried. The sun burst out and we’re happy for this.�

Wong, 24, died last week during the Kobe earthquake when the ceiling of her bedroom collapsed in Ashiya, on the outskirts of Kobe, making her one of two American casualties of the temblor. For days her parents, devout Baptists, worried that Japanese custom and bureaucracy might prevent her from receiving a traditional Christian burial because most corpses in Japan are cremated.

Those worries were resolved when Wong, a Grant High School and UCLA honors graduate, was buried with her favorite stuffed toy bear, Peter Panda.

It was also a picture of a panda, clinging to a branch against a background of blue sky, that adorned a funeral card handed out to friends and family. The image came from Wong’s last correspondence to her parents, in which she sent a postcard with a similar photograph. She wrote on the back: “That’s me hanging in the tree. . . . It’s beautiful.�

Wong’s brother Andy, 35, explained that pandas were a lifelong interest of his sister and that he used to talk to her in a high voice, playing the role of Peter Panda.

“Voni, it’s me, Peter Panda,� said Andy Wong, demonstrating. “Sorry to disturb you and Jesus up there, but I just wanted to let you know that Winnie the Pooh and Opus are going to be all right . . . and that we miss you down here, but we’re looking forward to seeing you in heaven.�

“Here on Earth she had a lot of friends, but truly her life with the Lord will show how many friends she had,� he said. “She and all of her friends will be together.�

“We don’t have to sorrow, God will bring back all the Christians who have died,� the Rev. Ed Kriz told the family at the burial service. Henry and Andy Wong nodded vigorously in agreement.

During the morning burial and an afternoon memorial service that drew more than 400 people to Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, friends and relations took time to recall Voni Wong and her passion for life.

“I remember she was very gentle and very sweet,� said Mabel Loong, 23, of Fullerton, who met Wong at the First Baptist Church in Van Nuys when they were children. “We used to stand in front of the mirror and put ladies’ face cream all over our faces. We used to go crazy pretending.�

“She was very cultural and was always willing to try something new,� said Cynthia Ung, 24, of Northridge, who became fast friends with Wong at Madison Junior High. Holding a letter Wong had recently sent from Japan, she remembered how her friend loved going to theater and dance performances and her passion for the novels of Jane Austen.

In the letter, Wong’s zest for life shines through as she describes how she was teaching five Japanese students English while taking classes in Chinese, Indian vegetarian cooking and Taiko, a traditional form of Japanese drumming.

“This is a blessing for us, to see all of these people that knew her and loved her,� said Wong’s mother, Myrtle, turning to hug a friend and then another as a crowd gathered around her.

“I’m flabbergasted, speechless, at all the radio and media support we’re getting,� added Jonathan Wong, Voni’s 30-year-old brother. “Half of the letters we’ve gotten, we don’t even know who they’re from.�