Eulogy to My Grandmother

Hyunrae Jang (7.26.1928-1.21.2026)

Hello, my name is Max and I am the grandson of Hyunrae Jang. I'd like to take this time to share with you all why I loved my grandmother so much. With all due respect to my parents, the person who raised me to be the person I am today is my grandmother. She took care of me, changed my diapers, fed me, took me to school, fed me some more, and then let me watch all the TV I wanted. My earliest memory of my grandmother is going to church with her by bus because my parents couldn't drive us. My fondest memory of her was her yelling at our neighbour's kid for peeing on a tree in front of our balcony, in Korean. Rumours say that kid hasn't peed since. My most recent favourite memory is waking up on a snowy day and finding a 95 year old lady shoveling snow because she was too impatient. Our neighbour was shocked and was helping her. My favourite story of my grandmother is when we applied for government subsidies for installation of home improvements for seniors. They come to your house and assess the physical state of the senior in home and upon testing her, the government official looked at me and said, "In all my years doing this job, I have never met someone your grandmother's age in such great health. You actually don't qualify for anything." And we laughed. My grandmother was mad. I asked my brother on the night she passed, "What's your favourite memory of grandma?" He recalled the time he invited his friend over to our house and my grandmother looked at him and told my brother that his friend needed to lose weight. My brother relayed the message and his friend got so hurt that he went on to lose more than half his weight and now runs marathons. My grandmother changed lives. And she certainly changed mine.

For anyone that has met my grandmother or has visited our home, she will ask you one thing, "did you eat?" This is a common Korean greeting that shows concern and behind the question it is really asking if you are taking care of yourself. But my grandmother has one extra hidden meaning behind this question. She asks "did you eat?" Hoping that you didn't. Why? Because she loves feeding people. That's her love language, that's the best thing she has to offer anyone. And for those of you who have had the privilege of eating her cooking, you know that it's not just the best thing she has to offer you, it's the best period. That's who she was to me, someone who never let my stomach be empty. Even last week on Monday, the last time I talked to her, her last words to me were, "Did you eat lunch? I made some pollack soup. Make sure you eat some before you go." She fed me to her last breath.

But she also gave other things. She gave her time to others. She could spend hours with you without doing anything. She gave her energy and effort. She was tireless. I remember visiting Korea as a child and going to her church. They were literally building their church by hand. And she was there everyday to help. She also gave her things away. Money? My mom is very frugal so whenever my mom didn't give me money to buy something, my grandma would secretly. Even this past year, every time my wife and I visited her, she gave my wife something. Socks, scarves, clothes. But let me tell you the greatest thing she gave to me and my whole family.

She gave us faith. She was the first Christian in our family. She gave herself to Christ and then she gave us Christ. God used her in our family to give us faith. My aunt and uncle are elders, my cousin is a missionary, my other cousin is a deacon, my dad is a pastor and by God's grace I hope to be one too. Everyday I woke up as a kid to go see what was in the fridge, my grandma was awake reading her Bible, with her little highlighter. You might know the famous quote by Charles Spurgeon, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” My grandma didn't have much on this earth but she had no want because she had Christ and now she is with Him forever. Nobody prayed more for me, nobody asked me more about my ministry, nobody exemplified the faith better to me than my grandma. Will I miss her? Yes, of course. But I know that where she is now is better than a thousand days elsewhere. So I'm happy for her. That's the peace that can only come from the gospel of Christ. Do not mourn her death, celebrate her life. I lost my grandma here but heaven has gained a daughter forever. One day I will come home too and perhaps when I enter heaven's gate, I will hear my saviour welcome me and then my grandma ask me if I ate. I'd like to end with the words of the Apostle Paul from Romans 14:8: "For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."