Kim Shoon Chin

Kim Shoon Chin (also known as Shew Hing Moy), 98, of Portland died Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Kim was born November 6, 1918, in a village in Toishan county, Kwantung (Guangdong) Province, China to the late How Chin and Yuen Fook Yeung. Kim was an immigrant and came to the United States in 1940, and later became a US Citizen in 1972.

Kim was married to Mue Jim Ng in 1947 who died in 1984 and to Yue Mei Zhu in 1987 who died in 2004.

Kim emigrated to the United States at the age of 22 and was a ‘paper son’. That is, like many young Chinese people trying to circumvent the Chinese Exclusion Act (which was later repealed), he emigrated to the United States by purchasing documents stating he was a blood relative to a Chinese American citizen. He entered the US through the Port of Los Angeles and, without knowing any English, traveled across the country to New York City to be reunited with his real father, also an immigrant, arriving from Havana, Cuba.

In his earlier years, he worked in laundries and restaurants in New York City and Cleveland, OH, where his ‘paper father’ was located. He finally moved to Oregon in the late 1940’s where many of his fellow villagers from China had settled. He owned a small restaurant in Klamath Falls, OR and later moved for his wife’s health, to Portland, Oregon. He worked as a waiter for about 40 years at various well-known Chinese restaurants—Golden Dragon, Pagoda, Kon Tiki, China Lantern, Hong’s Cantonese Pavillion, and Cantonesia. He lived the American dream and purchased a home in southeast Portland for cash in the late 1950’s and lived there for almost 60 years. Along the way, with only a formal third grade Chinese education, he learned English and, also became skilled at investing in the stock market. Kim and his wife, Mue Jim, believed education was important to success in the United States. They raised their six children to all receive college educations; three attained advanced graduate degrees.

Kim is survived by his six children, Luann Moy (Phil Neel) of Arlington, Va., Linda Chin, Wanda Renfro (Barney), and Gary Chin (Chris), of Portland, Shirley Dotts (Michael) of Saipan, CNMI; Winston Moy of Berkeley, Calif; three step-sons, Ming D. Li, Zhi Yuan Li, and Ming Bin Li. He is also pre-deceased by two brothers and survived by one sister, Kim Bo Chan Tam of Montreal, Canada; and twelve grandchildren. In addition, he leaves friends and caring staff from his life at Parkview-Cherrywood Village Memory Care.

Visitation with viewing will be from 4-8 p.m., Friday, April 28, 2017at Zeller Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home, 2107 N.E. Broadway St., Portland, OR

The funeral will be from 11:30a.m. - 12:30 pm., Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Lincoln Memorial Park and Cemetery, with burial following at 1:00 pm, 11801 SE Mt. Scott Blvd., Portland, OR.

Flowers may be sent c/o: Zeller Chapel of the Roses Funeral Home. Donations may also be made in memory of Kim Shoon Chin to the Portland Chinese Scholarship Foundation, c/o 1941 S.E. 31st Ave., Portland, OR 97214 or the Portland Chinatown Historical Foundation, c/o Terry Chung, 127 NW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97209.