焦點人物: Clara Kai-yu Lin 夏開玉

Clara Kai-yu Lin was born on May 9, 1943 in Yiyang, Hunan and moved to Taiwan at the age of six. She was a general’s daughter with a strong will, and was braver and smarter than the average child. In 1969, she left Taiwan to pursue graduate studies in the United States. In 1978, she moved to Irvine and never left. She started working at the VA Hospital and then moved to the UCI School of Medicine. Clara loved to travel and ventured out almost everywhere in the world. She had two sons: one is a naval officer defending the country; the other living and working in Irvine, striving to make Irvine a better place.

Not long after moving to Irvine, Clara was invited to teach at the Irvine Chinese School. That was the beginning of her 38 years of volunteer charity activities and community service. She served as the Parent Teacher Association President, and was very enthusiastic about the development and expansion of the Irvine Chinese School.

The Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Association (IECSA) was founded in 1989. Under the leadership of General Chung Fan, the IECSA flourished. Clara was General Fan’s neighbor, and out of respect for her elder generation, she often went over to assist General Fan and volunteered at IECSA.

In 1998 General Fan decided to move back to Taiwan but, as founder, he worried about the future of IECSA if he were to leave. Prior to moving back to Taiwan, he personally visited Clara to ask her to get involved more and help IECSA. Clara was always very enthusiastic and willing to help others. As this was a good opportunity to help the seniors, she immediately agreed to help. This started the next phase of her charity career. She was President of IECSA for multiple terms, and also served as Chairman of the Board. With her enthusiasm to help others, Clara was well liked and often able to obtain support and donations for IECSA. Whether it was locals or artists from around the world visiting the Southern California area, Clara was able to persuade and invite all types of talented and famous people to share their knowledge and perform at IECSA.

Under Clara’s leadership, along with that of the other directors, lECSA thrived and flourished. IECSA offered English classes, calligraphy classes, social clubs, a choir, Tai-chi classes, karaoke club, mahjong club, movie club, Chinese opera club, and more... making it the largest association at the Irvine Senior Center.

Every year, working together with the City of Irvine, IECSA organized a Chinese New Year celebration performance and luncheon for the community. Not only was this an opportunity to highlight Chinese culture, it also raised funds for the Irvine Senior Center. Clara actively participated in the promotion and celebration of multicultural events, including the Global Village Festival.

Clara Kai-yu Lin passed away on 10/16/2016. Her enthusiasm for helping others and her contribution to the community will be cherished and missed by all. One month after Clara’s death, the City of Irvine passed a resolution to rename the recreation room at the Lakeview Senior Center to “Clara Kai-yu Lin Room.” In addition, in 2018 the Irvine Chinese School renamed classroom 210 “Grateful Memory” in honor of her. (English translation by Sally Feng）

夏開玉 1943 年 5 月 9 日生於湖南益陽，六歲到台灣。將門虎女，從小就膽識機靈過人。1969 年 到美國留學，1978 年搬到爾灣，就沒離開過。先後任 職於 VA Hospital 和 UCI 醫學院。她愛好旅行，足跡遍及世界各地。

育有二子，一個是海軍軍官，保家衛國，另一個住家和工作都在爾灣，也正在為爾灣更美好的明天努力。

開玉搬來爾灣不久後，就被邀請到中文學校教書，就此開始了在爾灣 38 年的公益活動。她也當過家長會會長，熱心於教育和中文學校的發展。

1989 年松柏會成立，在范仲將軍的領導之下，會務蒸蒸日上。她因為是鄰居，又是晚輩，所以也常過去幫忙。1998 年范將軍要回台養老，但放心不下松柏會。臨行前特地到家相邀，請她出馬，助松柏會一臂之力。她本來就是古道熱腸，樂於助人，況且這是幫助老人家的好機會，當下慨然應允，於是開始了另一階段的公益生涯，當過松柏會多次會長和理事長。由於熱心、人緣好，常爭取到善心人士捐款贊助，邀請到在地或國內外路經洛杉磯的各路高手到松柏會表演演講，松柏會在她和所有的理事們共同努力之下，有了蓬勃的發展。有英文班、書法班、知心園地、合唱 團、太極班、卡拉 OK、麻將組、電影欣賞、平劇 社⋯.,成為爾灣老人中心各族裔的第一大社團。並與市政府合作，每年春節為居民舉辦慶祝農曆新年表演餐會，一方面宏揚中華文化，同時並為老人中心募款； 她也積極參與提倡多元文化的地球村慶祝活動。

夏開玉於 2016 年 10 月 18 日 過世，她的熱心公 益，樂於助人，對社區的貢獻，令人崇敬懷念。爾灣市府感懷其德，特地在她過世後一個月通過議案，將湖景老人中心的娛樂室命名為「夏開玉室」。

中文學校也於 2018 年將 210 教室命名為「懷恩堂」──夏開玉紀念教室。（林達雄撰文及提供照片）