Family History

My great grandparents on my dad’s side of the family immigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s. I am not sure what they did here, but my great grandpa may have possibly served in the military or was a cook, but they were very wealthy and sent money back to my grandma in China. My grandma was unhappy with her arranged marriage, so she cheated on him, got divorced, and remarried in 1955. Her new husband was very wealthy in China due to his family’s involvement in banks and a firecracker industry. Because my grandma’s new husband worked at the bank, she always went there to meet up with him. Then as Mao came into power in China, my grandma and step-grandpa took my dad and uncle and fled to Hong Kong. While living in Hong Kong, life became difficult because my step-grandfather gambled, was use to living a lavish lifestyle, and could not accept the fact that he was no longer wealthy. Thus, my dad did not like nor get along with my step-grandfather. They always got into fist fights. My dad does not remember his biological father. We still have connections with my dad’s aunt however, who has told us that my dad’s biological father had been looking for my dad and my uncle after my grandma had taken them away. At the same time, my mom was also living in Hong Kong with her older brother and grandma. My mom did not see her mother a lot because she had remarried and was living in China with her new family. My mom and dad however, knew each other when they were little.

Then in the early 1970s, my dad, uncle, grandma, and step-grandpa immigrated to Spokane, which was where my great grandparents were living. Then a few years later, my dad went back to Hong Kong for 3 months and got married to my mom. My mom and dad then came back over to the States. They also helped my mom’s side of the family immigrate to the U.S. They all initially lived in Spokane, but then most of my mom’s family moved, and to this day are still living in San Francisco. My mom and dad decided to stay in Spokane. They had my brother in 1977, my sister in 1988, and I in 1996.