Memorial and Final Expenses for Gabriel Ryan

Hi All,

 

If you have not heard already, we have had an unexpected death in our family. On Thursday, June 30th 2022, Gabriel Chun-Bok Ryan passed away in Vietnam in the arms of his wife, Alex. We are still waiting for the autopsy report, but the official death certificate says he passed from Acute Pulmonary Edema. Gabe’s wishes were to be cremated.

 

After teaching in Korea for nearly 10 years, Gabe moved with his wife to her home country of Vietnam in 2018, where he continued to teach. He was an inspirational teacher whose love for his students was only matched by his love for his friends, family, and especially Alex. 

Alex has been so strong, caring and organized during this unimaginable experience.

Alex and her family organized a respectful funeral ceremony at a historic temple in Ho Chi Minh City. We were able to be there through Facetime and experience the beautiful ceremony where Gabe was celebrated by family, friends, neighbors, and his students. The temple was gorgeous, and Gabe was there amongst hundreds of white flowers where everyone told stories, grieved, and said their final goodbyes.

 

Alex and Gabe were legally married as of February 14th, 2022, in Vietnam however were planning their ceremony for this December in Vietnam- we were just planning our trip to be out there to celebrate. Their long-term plan was to move to the United States in the upcoming year.

 

As we know, Gabe loved to travel, visiting 30 countries within his first 30 years of life and he took Alex to five of those countries. Their next stop was supposed to be the United States, as Alex has never been. Because of Covid and Visa restrictions, they were not able to come visit.

Alex has just applied for an emergency Visa through the US Embassy to take Gabe on one last plane ride, back home. This is not how the couple had planned Alex’s first trip to the United States and we have big shoes to fill but we plan to host Alex here for as long as she wants/can stay.

 

The outreach has been gratefully overwhelming, providing us with the love and support we need during this time. We know we are not the only ones grieving and want to host a celebration of life here in Staten Island, NY, as soon we get Alex’s flight booked.

 

Money raised will be used:

 

• To cover funeral/memorial expenses in Vietnam and America

• Travel expenses for Alex to attend the memorial in America (visa, flight, etc)

• General Support for Alex as she enters this unknown next chapter

 

If you are in Korea and would prefer to send money directly to Alex via bank transfer, please email “friendsofgabeandalex” (it’s a gmail but I can’t write it out or it will  be redacted) for her bank information.