Dad-Obituary

Jay Y Sun Jr. (Ben Cheong, “Lefty”) passed away peacefully at Casey House/Montgomery Hospice (Rockville MD) on November 14th, 2019 at 89 years of age, He leaves behind his loving wife, Elaine E (Hugh) Sun; his children Keith Sun and Maureen Sun Ford, her husband Michael Ford; three grandchildren, Jaclyn Ford, Jason Ford and Christopher Sun; and sisters, Sue Jean Louie and Sue Fern Gee. He was loved and will be missed by many.

Jay was born Bingchuang Xie (anglicized to Ben Cheong/Jay Ben Cheong) on November 25, 1929 in China. The PanWen building, part of LiYuan Gardens, in Kaiping China (now a UNESCO site) was his father’s house. In 1935, he came to the US with his brother, Jay Ben Kun, who died shortly thereafter in an accident. Growing up in Chicago, IL, he earned the lifetime nickname of “Lefty”. He officially adopted his father’s anglicized name (Jay Y Sun) when he joined the US Army and served in Korea. Wounded in a land mine in 1952, he spent a year recovering at Fitzsimons Army Hospital, in Denver, and was awarded the Purple Heart for his service. Jay married Elaine Elizabeth Hugh in 1955 and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Northwestern University in 1957. Working for the Internal Revenue Service, Jay relocated with his family to Arlington, Virginia in 1961 before finally settling in 1963 in their current home in Alexandria, Virginia. He worked for the IRS, often traveling to various data centers, until his retirement in 1987. Much of his retirement was spent extensively traveling the world and visiting family and friends. When at home, Jay loved cooking breakfast and serving as a tour guide to visiting guests.