I only met Gladys in person twice in my life, but I started writing to her on my father's behalf and translated her letters to him again and again when they arrived because he was afraid that I might have miss out on something. Therefore, I started to meet her 'on paper' through exchanges of letters as an official 'translator' and 'scribe' ever since her marriage. However, most of our communications were on the family level and seldom personal. I must say that I am more familiar with her handwriting than she as a person.

I think she felt that way too, so she proposed a different way of communication by proposing to make recordings in cassette tapes instead of writing letters. Our communication moved into another era. With better technology, we started communicating through recordings and were able to say more and communicate better directly. At least, that was much more personal. However, better technology did not change the nature of my position as the family 'translator' and 'scribe'. Whether the communication was by the written or oral medium, I was still the bridge making the two worlds understood.

Finally, Gladys proposed that I should relinquish my persona and communicate with her as myself. I dutifully did that telling her a full 20 minutes self-introduction on recording. Very soon, I got a letter from my brother as well as from her asking me what problems I had with 'sex' and that I could share with her on the topic if I met any difficulties there. ??????????

There were such a lot of question marks in my mind. Filled with fear and bewilderment, I was totally flabbergasted as to why I had given them this 'strange' impression, and I wondered what I had said wrong to have given them such an impression. The fact is that for a Chinese girl of 14 or 15 to discuss 'sex' openly some 40 odd years ago was unheard of. And, the most disturbing thing was why should I had problems with it ??? I wondered. Not knowing what to say in reply, I refrained from the topic and never mentioned this ever again. Although the topic was dropped, it was lurking at the back of my mind wondering why I gave her such an impression. Of course, I dared not translate this part of the letter and recording to my father. I would have asked for death if I did and such dirty linens such never be aired in the public. I kept my embarrassment for over 20 years wondering what I had done wrong.

The answer did not come until some 20 years later when I emigrated to Vancouver. Then, I realised that outside HK, people pronounce the subject 'mathematics' as 'Ma-TH' and not 'MaTS' as in HK. I guess Gladys probably heard me wrong thinking that I had problems with sex on the recording for I might have pronounced it so badly that she thought I meant 'SEX' when I said 'MATS' ( for math). I remember well that I did talk about my main concern was my difficulty in doing well in MATS and I confessed that it was my chief frustration which gave me a strong sense of failure.

Well, I do not know whether this can be considered as another case of 'Lost in Translation' or not. When I read Clarence and Andy's contribution to the memory of Gladys, I just thought I should contribute a little to her memory, too. Suddenly this story popped up again and I hope to share this little amusing episode with the rest of her family. Gladys was a concerning lady who spoke openly and bravely well ahead of 'our' time. Her beliefs, sentiments and good intentions were one step ahead of us and I feel so sorry that we did not appreciate them until so many years later. I am glad that I have known her for almost half a century and we had engaged in some serious communication at different periods of this long span of time.

May her soul lie in peace in the loving memory of her children and family.

Carrie

I remember dear Aunt Gladys as one of the very interesting person I have ever met. Our first encounter was some 30 years ago when her family visited HK during one summer. A little scared, I found this auntie very interested in seeing what we do and understanding little bit of details about our lives. Although we could not communicate well in the language of English, she was very patient in listening to us (perhaps trying to figure out what we are talking about). As my brother Clarence mentioned, the scramble egg class was classic. That totally opened up my door to cooking and I still remember Clarence and I later explored on the Gladys’ method by doing different variations of scramble egg. On our 2nd encounter, I was visiting NY some 20 years afterwards. We were having tea in her back yard on a warm sunny afternoon. Amazed that she still remembered who I was from the little kid back then, and we chat about projects she was working on, about thing she remembered during her HK trip, about all these amazing things she thought of our grand pa……….. that I did not even aware……. ……….and the wedding gift she sent all the way from NY for Amy and myself…………

Dear Lord, may Aunt Gladys find eternal peace in you, bless and bring comfort to Eugene, William and the families. Amen.

Andy Wing Him Li

My Auntie Gladys

I am one of Gladys' many nephews from the Li family in Hong Kong. I think I was only 7 or 8 when I first met Uncle Herschel and Auntie Gladys on their first visit to Hong Kong as a family with Eugene and William. Meeting my "gui lo" uncle, "gui pall" auntie and "gui chai" cousins ("gui" literally means "ghost", a common term in Cantonese to describe Caucasian foreigners because of the colour of their skin!) was an unforgettable event! I spoke very limited or if any English then. But right from the start, Auntie Gladys was friendly and showed a great interest in communicating with me, my brother Wing Him, and my cousins Bobby and Ivan. Being a good teacher, she had her object lesson all set to teach her nephews. There was a week or so when my uncle's family of four was crashing with my family of 5 in our 600 sq. ft. apartment on the 29th floor. I remember Gladys one morning decided to teach me and my brother to cook scramble eggs--my first ever cooking lesson! To this very day I still cook my eggs the way Gladys taught me.

In the last ten years Gladys took the initiative to reconnect with me and some others in my family. It was good to meet the proud mother of the grooms at Eugene's and William's weddings. She shown a great interest after learning that I was discerning a call to the priesthood. She was fascinated about the life of my late grandpa--his upbringing, his faith and the many stories grandpa used to love telling his grandchildren. On one of the more recent trips to Asia, she stopped by to visit my parents in Hong Kong. She met my colleague the late Fr. David Retter when he too was passing through Hong Kong on his way to visit our sister parish in Taichung, Taiwan. My dad offered them an adventure driving tour of the city. After the trip Gladys called me to tell me much how much she had enjoyed meeting my colleague. She was also very interested in learning my life as a newly ordained priest in Vancouver, Canada.

About a year and half ago I got a call from Gladys asking if I could help her identifying some Chinese documents written by my grandpa. I was quite moved when she told me that she was hoping to get these documents organized and perhaps translated for the sake of passing those stories and history to her grandchildren Stephanie, Teresa, Dakota Jane and Jason Thomas. She also shared with me her recent passion in researching the first ever Chinese typewriter invented by Yutung Lin. Talking to William last weekend, I was glad to learn that Gladys had completed both of these projects which were dear to her heart this past year.

I am grateful to have known Auntie Gladys however briefly in my life. The friendship she extended to a culture (and more than one culture) which was not her own will continue to live in her children, grandchildren and in the many lives she had touched.

In the words of her favourite Psalm 23:

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

May Gladys rest in peace. And may she go on living in her children, her family and her friends; in their hearts and minds, in their courage and their consciences. Amen.

Clarence Wing On Li

From Bob Rittner

Gladys and I worked together for her entire time in Hastings. We were friends as well as colleagues, and Gladys reached out to become friends with my wife Bernadette as well. I always loved listening to them on the phone, each laughing uproariously as they shared stories. Whenever Bernadette got off the phone with Gladys she was happy and smiling.

I think what people sometimes forget is how cosmopolitan Gladys was. Whenever possible I saw to it that she had the foreign students in her class, and when the opportunity arose had her teach special groups of foreign students so they could integrate into the school. Invariably they were grateful for her help, whether they were from Kazakhistan or Japan, Latin America or Europe. I know Gladys got immense satisfaction from her ability to connect with them, in large part due to her remarkable understanding and appreciation of their cultures and backgrounds. They found her patient and caring while being impressed by her intellect.

I was always grateful to Gladys for being so much on the cutting edge of computer education. Well before most people in the school she recognized their increasing necessity for teachers and students and became our department's primary resource in that field.

But most of all I remember her warmth and wit and her genuine concern for others. Her admiration for Eunice Lloyd came from her deep appreciation for and desire to emulate the qualities Eunice represented: commitment to excellence, integrity, dedication and a desire to do good in the world. I am deeply saddened by her passing but treasure the memories I have.

Gladys and I were students together at City College. We haunted the
same spots on campus, but never met until I joined her at Farragut
Middle School in Hastings. We shared a great many things, especially
about our children. Eugene and William are a bit older than my guys,
Chris and Matt, so she had quite a bit of good advice about dealing
with babies; on the other hand, our adopted son, Michael, was fifteen
when I started at Hastings, so we had the opportunity of being the
"wisdom dealers" about raising a teenager.

Gladys and I laughed a lot. I think I will mostly remember her
strong, high-pitched laugh which she let loose very freely. Lately,
we had our yearly phone call, Christmas card - "how are the kids;
what's the news" I know how very proud she was of Eugene and William and how deeply she loved her grandchildren.

I'll miss her.

Joe P

Obituary of Gladys M. Li (1941-2009)

Gladys Miriam Li passed away August 21, 2009.  She was 68 years old. 

Ms. Li taught Social Studies at Hastings-on-Hudson for 25 years.
Originally from Jamaica Queens, she graduated with honors from Hunter College High School in 1959 before enrolling at City University of New York (CCNY) which nurtured her life-long commitment to the study of languages, cultures, and international relations. In 1962, CCNY awarded her the first ever Townsend Harris scholarship (named after CCNY’s founder and the first U.S. Ambassador to Japan) to the International Christian University in Tokyo. After a brief stint as a foreign correspondent in India, she considered a career in the foreign service while a graduate student at Georgetown. She received her Teaching Masters from Antioch College in 1968, and ultimately chose to teach at Hastings after meeting her mentor and role model, Eunice Ann Lloyd.
After she retired in 1993, she undertook a variety of charitable endeavors, and traveled extensively.
Dearly loved by her sons Eugene and William, and her four grandchildren, a closed, private memorial will be held in her honor, in accordance with her wishes.