Xiujuan Yu left her life in China behind about a decade ago to start a new future for her family in the United States.
A mother of three, Yu and her husband worked hard to support their two daughters’ college education, and took on odd jobs to make ends meet.
But everything changed on the night of Jan. 21.
“What was meant to be a night out celebrating the Lunar New Year with friends ended up being a devastating and life-changing event for my family,” Yu’s niece, Kathleen Fong wrote in an online fundraiser to help bury her.
Complete coverage: Monterey Park Mass Shooting
“My aunt was in the middle of crafting that future with her husband and children, and now to have that journey suddenly interrupted is heartbreaking,” Fong wrote. “She will never be able to witness what she dreamed of for all these years.”
Yu, 57, is the youngest of 11 victims in the Monterey Park mass shooting.
“Personally, this still doesn’t feel real. It happened all too quickly — we never even got a chance to properly say goodbye,” Fong added.
In an update Thursday, Jan. 26, Fong announced the family raised over $30,000 in donations and thanked supporters for their generosity and support. As of Friday afternoon, the online campaign surpassed $36,000.
The Yu family is still in the process of preparing for the funeral and will update when a date is confirmed, Fong noted.
“It is still difficult to process what happened to my aunt and our family,” Fong continued. “But as someone once told us, we shouldn’t think too harshly about my aunt’s last moments, but to instead remember her as how she lived.”
Source: Orange County Register
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