My dearest Catherine
My dearest Catherine,
I left Toronto becoming a different person… these past few days have been the saddest time in my life when I continued to mourn your departure… I felt that you have taken away some piece in me, something very special that I will never find again… I cannot imagine how your mom and your dad can find the joy and the happiness that you brought to them so naturally by being such a wonderful daughter! We all understood that it was your destiny and you left us for a better place… We all prayed Budha to bless our family with enough strength to go through this painful period… but as human beings, it is so hard to detach all the emotions associated with the wonderful memories we had with you in these past sixteen years.
Through the memorial services and by talking to all the people who came visiting you, I realized how special my beloved niece has been to all the people that had the chance to know you. In your short life of sixteen years, you have touched so many lives and your kindness and compassion has created such a great impact in so many people who knew you. I came to realize that my niece was not just a multi-talented young girl with an inquisitive mind and a great compassion, you have also set an example for continually striving for excellence and determination to achieve the goals that you set for yourself. I also learned how much fun your friends would have just to be with you and also how much you love your parents and your sister…
As we all said at the funeral, we would like to turn all of these agony and pain of losing you into something positive by creating something meaningful to continue to carry on the positive spirit that you have always demonstrated. Your parents have established a Catherine Tran Si Thuy Minh charity fund to deliver humanitarian projects that assist children in need both in Vietnam and in Canada. They will continue to honor you by doing these works to continue to improve the lives of poor and needy children in both Vietnam and in Canada. You will be forever remembered as a beautiful (both inside and outside), talented and intelligent Catherine that are loved dearly by all your parents, sister, aunts, uncles, grand parents and friends.
Thank you Catherine, for bringing us so much joys and happiness in your sixteen years on earth and we believe that your spirit will stay with us in years to come when we continue to fullfill your wish through charity works on behalf of your name. You will be always our sweet sixteen year-old Catherine whom we love so much.
Goodbye Catherine, we will see you in the near future when our time come and hopefully we will all be together peacefully and happily again.
With much love
