Biography

“The story of our father is a story of a selfless, hardworking man with an endearing smile, who married the love of his life, a stern, yet devoted family man whose eyes would light up whenever he saw or spoke about his five children and seven grandchildren. His journey spans two continents and four countries and quietly changed the lives of countless families. We love you and we miss you…”

– The Giep Family

Paul Chan Giep aka Chan Pau Giep, also nicknamed Chan Thai was born in April of 1940 in Saigon, Vietnam. He is of Chinese descent whose ancestors migrated to Vietnam fleeing the decades of turmoil post Qing Dynasty. He was the youngest of five children, with a sister still living in Vietnam, and three older now deceased brothers.

Chan Thai graduated high school in Vietnam and spoke French, English, Chinese and Vietnamese. He worked as a Translator and Typist at a local military in South Vietnam. As custom at the time, a match maker set him up with his wife, Jac Lin. They had their first daughter a couple of years later, and went on to have three more daughters and their youngest son. They were married for 57 years.

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Chan Thai sought political asylum from the communist who imprisoned and tortured anyone associated with the Southern Vietnamese military, his eldest lieutenant brother endured +10 years of capture. For four years he would take his second daughter with him as a decoy to secret meetings to plan an escape. He met with a boat owner and devised a way to leave the country.

He gathered his life savings to partially pay for the passage for his seven family members and in the pre-dawn hours disembarked across the Pacific Ocean.  Chan Thai was asked to redraw the route and assist with the navigation of the boat after the maps and compass were raided by Thai pirates looking for money and jewelry. Fortunately, they came across a U.S. Navy Patrol, Chan Thai used his limited English to communicate with the U.S. Navy ship’s captain to get permission for the passengers to come on board, eventually landing on a refugee camp in Thailand.

In June of 1979, the family of seven arrived in Chemung County, New York with the aid and sponsorship of a local pastor, Jim Carroll, his family and the church community, helped the family get back on their feet. The next morning, a local reporter named Betty came to interview Chan Thai and the family and the story became front page news for the local newspaper.

After six months, Chan Thai moved his family to Elmira, New York. He found work as a janitor during the day and attended Elmira College in the evenings. While attending college, he met a couple of graduate students from Malaysia who he housed during the summer months in an already full housing project. He emphatically studied and prepped his wife on the U.S. Citizenship test, and they together passed the test. His proudest moment was when the entire family became naturalized U.S. Citizens.

Officially U.S. citizens, newly renamed Paul, felt safe to take the next big step. With the help of his wife’s Great Uncle, the family moved to Los Angeles to be closer to relatives, the Asian community and all the universities California offered. All his children are college graduates and working professionals.

In Los Angeles, he joined a local Chinese community organization who dedicated their time helping other families. They reunited with old friends and had a very busy social calendar with many wedding banquets and parties almost every weekend. Paul worked, more often volunteered, to help to reunite families in America and assist them with starting new lives so they can achieve the American dream.

Paul took on the added responsibility to sponsor and raise his nephew and niece who were stuck at a refugee camp after migrating from Vietnam. They also graduated with college degrees. Eventually, sponsoring two brothers’ families, the eldest lieutenant brother’s family and 2nd brother’s family, who died before making the journey west.

Paul and his wife practice Traditional Chinese Religion, once outlawed during the Cultural Revolution, now accepted and still practiced by millions, it is more tradition than religion. It incorporates elements from other religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. His children were free to pursue their own beliefs, but maintain and respect their thousands of years of tradition. He walked down the aisle at many weddings and attended his grandchildren’s Bar mitzvahs and Baptisms.

Traditional Chinese religion in detail click here

Traditional Chinese religion, often referred to as Chinese folk religion, is a broad and diverse system of religious beliefs and practices that has been followed by the Chinese people for centuries. It encompasses a wide range of spiritual traditions and rituals, many of which are deeply rooted in Chinese culture and history. While there is no single, unified system of traditional Chinese religion, some key aspects and components include:

1. Ancestor Worship: Ancestor veneration is a central feature of traditional Chinese religion. It involves paying respect to deceased ancestors through offerings of food, incense, and other rituals. Ancestors are believed to have a continuing influence on the lives of their descendants, and honoring them is seen as essential for family well-being.
2. Deities and Spirits: Traditional Chinese religion involves the worship of numerous deities, spirits, and gods. These can include gods of nature, local deities, celestial beings, and mythical figures. These entities are often associated with specific places, temples, or shrines.
3. Rituals and Festivals: A wide variety of rituals and festivals are practiced in traditional Chinese religion. These rituals typically involve offerings, prayers, and sometimes performances of traditional music and dance. Festivals often correspond to agricultural or lunar calendar events and may be observed on a local, regional, or national level.
4. Divination and Shamanism: Practices such as divination (methods for seeking guidance or predicting the future) and shamanism (communication with spirits through shamans or spiritual intermediaries) are also part of traditional Chinese religion.
5. Syncretism: Traditional Chinese religion is known for its syncretic nature, meaning it often incorporates elements from other religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This blending of beliefs and practices has resulted in a rich tapestry of spiritual traditions.
6. Folk Beliefs: Traditional Chinese religion includes a wide array of superstitions and folk beliefs related to luck, fate, and cosmic forces. These beliefs often influence daily life decisions and rituals.
7. Local Variations: Traditional Chinese religion can vary significantly from one region to another and even from one village to another. Local communities often have their own set of deities, customs, and rituals.

Unlike organized religions with clear doctrines and centralized authorities, traditional Chinese religion is characterized by its decentralized nature. There is no single authoritative text or religious institution governing these beliefs and practices. Instead, it is a living and evolving system deeply intertwined with Chinese culture, history, and daily life. As a result, it has adapted and evolved over time while maintaining its core spiritual elements.

His once busy life was slowed with renal failure and daily dialysis was required after years of maintaining his hypertension and diabetes. The dialysis left him very tired and weak, however, he never skipped a beat, self-administering his own at home dialysis for years. Around this time, he found his greatest love and joy, being a Grandpa. He always smiled proudly and kept a shirt pocketful of red envelopes for his 7 grandchildren. Through countless family gatherings, Chinese New Years, Christmases and Thanksgivings, Fathers Days, Mothers Days, birthdays and graduations, the family always had a joyous time filled with love and laughter.

Unfortunately, as the years marched, so did his strength and mobility. He hit his head on April 2023 which left him unconscious. The fall caused a brain bleed in an inoperable part of his brain. He was hospitalized for one month, he miraculously rehabilitated and was back to being Grandpa.  He had some months of reflection after the last scare, he knew his time was shortening.  In September of 2023, he had a stroke that led to another hospitalization. An operation was done to remove the blood clot that caused a midline shift in his brain, he fought bravely for 11 days. Paul, still unconscious, miraculously opened his eyes on the 11^th day to see his wife and five children and clutched the hands of his loved ones while they said their final goodbyes, he never regained consciousness and passed peacefully.

Paul led a quiet life of servitude to his community and always offered a helping hand to anyone in need. His actions taught his children and grandchildren that you do not have to be rich or famous to make a difference. He always did the right thing even when no one was looking.

He will be buried on September 29, 2023, which is a Chinese Harvest Festival Holiday. It is a day when the moon will be the brightest and farmers reap the crops for that year. Fitting for a humble man who never wanted a new car, a new sweater, a new tie, or new shoes, only needed just enough to be able to feed his family.  That day, the family will proudly honor and celebrate an amazing, kindhearted, intelligent, hardworking, loving and wonderful man. He will be truly missed. May he rest in peace.