Vincent Chiong Aye

Vincent Aye (Chiong Boo Kok) passed from death to life in Jesus in the early hours of Thursday, April 17, 2025. Those who knew him are indelibly marked by his written musings about practical and spiritual matters, his passion for cultivating relationships, his love of cooking and enjoying food, and his reliance on God.
Vince's family was originally from mainland China but had moved to Burma (Myanmar) five generations before he was born. Vince was born on May 19, 1946, to his father (Chiong Boon Chin) and mother (Teoh Chye Har), ten minutes after his twin brother (David /Boo Bin). He was the sixth of seven children and loved setting up makeshift aquariums and raising chickens in the yard. Along with his brothers, he attended St. Paul's Catholic School in Rangoon. After school, they would snack on fried noodles from the restaurant/grocery store owned by their father. Although they grew up in Burma, their grandmother made sure the children spoke Chinese at home.
After they finished high school, the twins scored well on their matriculation exam. Through connections he had with the Taiwanese government, their father was able to borrow finances, procure passports, and arrange passage for the twins to the United States via Hong Kong. Vince left Burma with only one gold chain and five dollars to his name. Stopping in Hong Kong, Vince borrowed funds to purchase an airplane ticket, a suit, a watch, and a camera. At age 19, Vince and David arrived in the US on October 4, 1965, on student visas. They came to Ripon, Wisconsin, where their oldest brother, Hla Shwe, was part of the faculty at Ripon College. Vince lived with Hla's family for four years while he earned his BS in Mathematics, graduating June 1969, Phi Beta Kappa alongside his brother David. During their college years, the twins learned all about American life and culture. David taught Vince to drive!
The twins went by their Burmese names while they were in college. For Vince, this was Maung Aye. After working for five years, he applied for naturalized US citizenship and chose the name "Vincent" after one of the Jesuit brothers from St. Paul's Catholic School. And thus, he became Vincent Chiong Aye.
The twins separated when Vince attended the University of Minnesota for graduate school while David attended the University of Wisconsin. Although Vince completed all the coursework toward a PhD in Math Analysis, he never completed his thesis. Four months after choosing to follow Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he married Tok, a beautiful young lady from Thailand whom he had met on the UofM bus during orientation. Vince faithfully telephoned Tok every afternoon, every day before they were married. Tok credits Vince for her English-speaking skills because of these long phone calls. They were married August 28, 1971, at Central Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. They bought their first home in St. Paul and had three daughters: Debbie, Amiejoy, and Christine.
Vince's first job was with Sperry Univac, in the accounting department. His boss inspired him to branch out, and Vince dove into computer programming. In 1978, he was sent to Yokosuka, Japan in a joint venture between the US and Japanese navy, in which he installed software on Japanese submarines. The Sperry Univac team worked closely with a Mitsubishi team for five years on the project. While in Japan, Vince indulged in his love of travel and photography. He traveled all over Japan and Asia. He even convinced Tok, a natural homebody, to accompany him on a one-month adventure around the world.
After the project in Japan wrapped up, Sperry Univac offered Vince a position in Valencia, California. He moved his family to Valencia in the fall of 1983. After his time with Univac, Vince worked for ITT Gilfillan, Teledyne, and Litton. In 1999, Vince and Tok relocated to Huntsville, Alabama while he was working for Litton. In 2001, Litton merged with Northrop Grumman, and Vince retired from Northrup in October 2013. Before retiring, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from Heritage Bible College.
He spent his retirement years organizing and curating his music collection, reading through his New Yorker, Atlantic, and Smithsonian magazines and cutting out clippings for his children and grandchildren, working out at the YMCA, and meeting with other Bible believers for encouragement, support, and accountability. He shared his thoughts on scripture, human nature, and more in his "View from the Pew" and STOP (Short Thoughts Of Poppo) emails.
Vince's kidneys started to fail shortly after he retired. After four years of steady kidney failure, his twin brother David convinced him to start peritoneal dialysis. Vince was on dialysis from December 2017 until his kidney transplant in February 2019. With his donated kidney, he was able to weather a severe case of COVID infection in the summer of 2020. The ensuing five years were filled with special times with family and friends.
Vince's sister, Shirley Leong and brother, Hla Shwe passed in 2011 and 2020, respectively. Vince is survived by his beautiful wife, Tok; his daughters, Debbie Brenner (Cameron), Amiejoy Nogle (Brian), and Christine Foster (Mike). He is Poppo to grandchildren, Timu (Gabriela), Jacob (Rubie), Elise (Mike), Caspian, Ethan, Siloam, Horatio, and Michelle; and to great-grandchildren, Rose, Ruth, Brennan, Evelynne, Cora, Poppy, Charlotte, and Theo. He is also survived by his sister, Siok Hoon Fu, brothers, George Tin, David Chiong, and Desmond Chiong; and godbrothers, Richard Choa and Richard Thein.
For those interested in honoring Vince through a memorial donation, please consider the National Kidney Foundation, instrumental in his physical health. Consider also The Gideons International, a powerful force in furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ, who transformed Vince's life, giving him victory over sin and death.