Obituary of Jessie C. Ling

Jessie Chan Ling, our beloved mother, grand mother, great grandmother and caring friend, passed away peacefully on December 8, 2014 at the age of 100. She was known to many in Santa Barbara as the proprietress of Cathay West, a gift shop she operated for 22 years, and later as a volunteer at the library of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Jessie leaves her children Michael (Lorraine Spilker Ling), Vivian (Jim Dew), and Angela (Terry Scandrett); grandchildren Stephen Hsu (Maggie), Andrea Hsu (Michael Laris), Melecia Ling, and Sonia Ling Popke (Aaron); and great grandchildren Colin, Delilah, Sam, and Dylan. Jessie's husband Samuel C.H. Ling predeceased her in December 2009. Jessie was the daughter of Chan Pa Tao and Hsu Suk Fun. Her illustrious father was a Confucian scholar and a Mandarin in the Qing court, where he served as the Imperial Historian and Political Advisor in the final decade of dynastic China. After the 1911 revolution that ended China's imperial rule, Chan Pa Tao moved his family to Hong Kong, where Jessie was born. In the Chinese tradition, Jessie was tutored at home until age 11, whereupon she became a student at Diocesan Girls School, then Hong Kong University, where she received her degree and met and later married her classmate Sam Ling. In 1942, Jessie and Sam fled to mainland China after Hong Kong fell to the Japanese. Jessie found work teaching English at Jiaotong University in Chongqing, China's wartime capital. When the capital moved to Nanjing after the war in 1945, so did they, and Sam joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was during this tumultuous time in China's history that the couple's three children were born. The Lings moved to Washington DC in 1955, when Sam was appointed Counselor of Cultural Affairs of the Chinese Embassy and a Delegate to the United Nations. While in Washington, Jessie took post-graduate courses in library science at Catholic University and Gallaudet College, and later worked in the Washington DC Public Library. She and Sam moved to Jamaica in 1968 when Sam was appointed ambassador of the Chinese Embassy there. Upon his retirement from diplomatic service in 1972, they settled in Santa Barbara. Her love of handicrafts and meeting the public prompted her to open Cathay West at 1129 State Street in 1975. At the age of 80, she retired this enterprise, dusted off her librarian skills and walked across the street to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to offer her services to the museum library. There, she enjoyed her final career for 10 years, until she reached her 90th birthday. Jessie will always be remembered for her ever ready and warm smile and her determination to remain involved with the world around her. A memorial service to celebrate the life of Jessie Ling will be held in the Chapel of The First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara on Friday, January 16, 2015, at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to a charity of your choice . Arrangements made with McDermott-Crockett Mortuary.