(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021. Nancy passed away on Aug 20, 2022.)
Nancy Cheng, with her full head of silver hair often greets people with a broad smile, volunteers in two Community Centers in Irvine by teaching residents of different ethnic backgrounds to play Mahjong. She developed English handouts, and never forgets to squeeze in coaching her pupils with some simple Mandarin. Watching Indian, Korean, and Caucasian friends playing Mahjong while chit chatting & laughing is Nancy’s greatest reward.
Nancy came to the United States alone in 1950 to pursue her studies. Her father was the late writer Chen Jiying. After finishing high school in Beijing, Nancy moved to Taiwan with her family. She regrettably missed the deadline for taking the National Taiwan University entrance exam. Consequently she was unable to enter the university in accordance with her timetable. Fortunately, with the assistance of the late Cardinal Paul Yu Pin, she applied to the Montana Private Carroll College of Arts and Sciences to study nursing, and became the first international student enrolled by the school. As a result, she also appeared in the local English newspaper.
Nancy recalled that her English comprehension was poor when she first came to the States, thus she received the first ever disappointing ‘C’ in her life. She cried disconsolately that night. Luckily, her roommates and classmates graciously extended their help by tutoring her, which enabled her to speak English with a New York accent within half a year. Not only that, she no longer needed the crutch of relying on her Chinese-English dictionaries to do her homework.
Working as a pediatric nurse in the hospital, Nancy switched her career path to nursing education after getting married and having her children. She eventually earned a Master’s and a Doctorate degree, followed by teaching at the University of Florida, Cerritos College, and Rancho Santiago College, formerly known as Santa Ana Community College. At the latter school, she tirelessly set up the Nursing department and served as the Dean of the department until retirement.
In 1995, Nancy took advantage of the school’s early retirement plan and began to dedicate full time to community service as a volunteer at more than 20 organizations. She tallied up the numbers and confirmed that no less than 80 hours a month were committed to services. Although those were unpaid positions, she enjoyed them so much that she was surprisingly energized even more! While dealing with fundraising among the senior citizen organizations, she often sponsored some by paying out of her own pocket.
Nancy, who has a passion about the welfare of the elderly and multicultural issues, served with pride as the President of the Irvine Multicultural Association and helped found the Irvine Global Village Festival to promote cultural exchange between all ethnic groups. After demonstrating significant contributions to the community, Nancy was recognized and honored by the City of Irvine as a Distinguished Citizen. Her name is now listed on the Wall of Recognition in Irvine.
Due to her professional expertise in nursing education and nutrition, Nancy was often invited to serve in leadership positions of non-profit organizations after retirement; Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Association President, Irvine Adult Day Health Center Board member, Senior Resident Advisory Committee of Orange County, just to name a few. While serving on the Senior Citizens Advisory Council of Orange County, she had to visit numerous senior centers across Orange County and had opportunities to meet many individuals who are likeminded in community services.
Given the fact that language barrier is the biggest obstacle for new immigrants to acclimate to the new life in the States, Nancy once volunteered to offer English classes for new immigrants at the Irvine Lakeview Senior Center every Monday afternoon. Not only were her lessons complimentary, she was more than happy to act as a driver and translator when new immigrant students got sick. Furthermore, she helped many Chinese, who had recentlymoved to Irvine, to adapt to and settle in the new environment. Nancy and the English-class students naturally bonded with a unique friendship. She sometimes acted as a translator for those who received letters that they couldn’t understand. Occasionally, she was also a grateful recipient of delicious home-made food prepared by her beloved friends.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nancy, like everyone, was forced to shelter in place. She then applied to the Irvine Meals on Wheels food delivery services, and was quickly approved. Volunteers have delivered five days of nutritious meals and fruits a week. She savored the nutritious, healthy, and delicious meals she once played a driving force in developing, and her heart was filled with contentment and joy.
(English translation by Gloria Glickley)
(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書，陳雅寧女士於2022年8月20日辭世)
滿頭銀絲、經常笑臉迎人的陳雅甯，在爾灣市兩座社區中心擔任義工，教各族裔居民打麻將，她自編英文講義，還不忘順帶教兩句簡單華語，看著印度人、韓國人、白人朋友們，有說有笑的玩起麻將，就是陳雅甯最大的收穫。
1950 年隻身來美留學的陳雅甯，父親是已故作家陳紀瀅，陳雅甯在北京念完高中後隨家人前往台灣，錯過參加台大入學考試日期，無法順利升學。所幸在天主教會于斌樞機主教的協助下，申請到蒙大拿州私立 Carroll 文理學院念護理，成為該校招收的首位國際學生，還因此上了當地的英文報紙。
陳雅甯回憶說，剛來美國時英文不好，拿了生平第一個 C，當晚回家抱頭痛哭，還好室友及同學為她補習英語，讓她在半年內學會一口紐約腔的美式英語，作功課也不必再依賴中英字典。
曾在醫院擔任兒科護士的陳雅甯，結婚生子後轉攻護理教育，先後取得碩士及博士學位，曾任教於佛羅里達大學、喜瑞都學院及原名為聖塔安那社區學院的 Rancho Santiago 學院，一手籌設該校護理系課程，並出任系主任直到退休。
1995 年陳雅甯趁著校方優退計畫而提早退休，開始全時間投入社區服務，先後擔任 20 多個組織義工。她屈指一算，每個月當義工的時數不下 80 小時，雖然都是無給職，她卻樂此不疲，碰到年長居民組織籌款時，她還經常自掏腰包，熱心贊助。
對年長居民福利與多元文化議題特別關心的陳雅甯，曾擔任爾灣市多元文化協會（Irvine Multicultural Association）會長，創辦促進各族裔文化交流的爾灣市地球村節慶（Irvine Global Village Festival），並因此獲選爾灣傑出市民， 列名爾灣市榮譽牆（Wall of Recognition）上。
由於在護理教育及營養學方面的專業經驗，陳雅甯退休後經常獲邀出任非營利組織理事：曾擔任爾灣松柏會會長、爾灣市年長居民諮詢委員、爾灣市日間照護中心理事及橙縣年長居民諮詢委員。在擔任橙縣年長居民諮詢委員期間，她跑遍橙縣各地的老人活動中心，也結識社區裡許多熱心公益的朋友。
有鑑於語言隔閡是新移民最頭痛的問題，陳雅甯曾自告奮勇為新移民開辦英文班，每週一下午在爾灣湖景老人活動中心上課。不但免費教英文，碰到新移民學生生病時，她更熱心充當司機兼翻譯，協助許多剛搬來爾灣的華人適應新環境。英文班學生自然成了她的朋友，有人收到看不懂的信件請她翻譯，有人在家做了好吃的家常菜，會專程送給她品嚐。
新冠疫情期間，陳雅甯被迫居家防疫，她向爾灣市府申請送餐服務，很快就獲得批准，每週有義工送來五天的營養餐及水果。她吃到自己參與設計的營養餐，心中洋溢滿足喜悅的滋味。
（蕭迪玉撰文）