Winnie Wing-Kei Tso-Cure

Winnie was born in Guangzhou (Canton) China, on May 6th, 1961. To loving parents Doctor Yiu Ming Tso and Shun Po (Ida) Wong. Growing up during the “Cultural Revolution” in mainland China the family moved to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, Winnie attended Liu Ching Middle School. During this time Winnie’s love of the Piano and Chopin developed. So much so that Winnie attended the “Royal School of Music” which is part of the “Royal Academy of Music” who’s President at the time was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She scored highly while attending there in Music Theory and Pianoforte. This led to Winnie again scoring highly at the Hong Kong Music and Speech Festival. The family then moved to the United States and Winnie attended High School in Portland Oregon. After High School Winnie attended and graduated from the University of California at Berkley’s prestigious Haas School of business. Winnie was a undergraduate and graduate “Scholastic Honor Society” member during her time at UCB. Upon graduation one of her first jobs was at Del Monte. She always joked that her accounting skills were put to work at quality control counting how many seeds were in each tomato. Winnie was a Certified Management Accountant, Certified Financial Manager and a Certified Public Accountant. Her financial expertise made her very sought after. With these skills and being fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English Winnie was courted by several U.S. Federal Law Enforcement agencies. Winnie chose to pursue corporate business as a controller. This was her best decision. This resulted in Winnie taking four companies public on the New York Stock Exchange. Two as Controller, one as Global Controller and one as the Chief Financial Officer-CFO. That’s the corporate Winnie. The personal Winnie…. Loves God, more than anything else on earth God is first. When we met we talked a great deal about God. Winnie wanted a man that loved God as much as she did. I wanted a woman that loved God as I do. It was much later that Winnie told me of something her Mom told her; “When you marry, marry a Christian man. You won’t be happy with someone who isn’t”. As I said Winnie’s Passion was God first and I’m honored to say I was next. I was the love of her life and she mine. I know for a fact the best day of Winnie’s life and of mine also was the day we were married. We tried for a few years to get married in Rome. However Winnie’s work would change last minute and we’d be off to one of her companies offices somewhere around the world. The day we were married was the best of all days. I so love to hear her say “I Love You”. Ya know she told me when she was in past relationships that the men hated hearing her say that to them. I said well…they’re idiots! You’d have to be nuts not to want to hear the “I love you” from the one you love. How I’d so enjoy hearing that again from her. She’d say I love you, I’d say I love you more, she’d say I love you to the “Nth” degree, I’d say I love you to the Nth degree times Pi. Then Winnie would say ya always pull the “Pi” card, I’d say because that’s how I love you…endlessly! Winnie and I at home was our favorite place to be. Winnie has been since I first met her, my one and only, we truly are soulmates. She’d say “you’re in my head”! Because I knew what she wanted before she’d say it, we could finish each other’s sentences. Winnie’s next true love was my 125lb Shutzhund III Rottweiler, his name was Rom. Winnie and I didn’t have biological children, but we did have a child that was stuck in a Rottweiler body. And it was true love at first site. You see before I met Winnie, I prayed for someone that loved God as I did and would love my little boy as I did (people are afraid of Rottweilers)…God brought us together as she was also praying for someone who loved God as she did. So when they were first going to meet I prepped her about him. He’ll say hello and then probably ignore you (that’s what he’s always done in the past with other people, very aloof). Oh did I mention my prayer about “God give me a sign” I said to God I like this Winnie very much but what I’ve been doing hasn’t worked well for me so I surrender to you Lord. Please remember that I need a sign as subtle as a train crash that Winnie is who you want for me. Well, Winnie walks in the door her usual bubbly self, ignores me…immediately gets on her knees with open arms and Rom runs right to her kissing, wiggling with joy and then sits on her lap. There was my sign. You’d have to see the look on his face. I captured it the next time she came over…same thing happened same look and I photographed it. Now Winnie saw what I did…it’s the look of “Ok, ya get it, is this subtle as a train crash for you?”! I did get it! He never did that before, he’d walk up look at them turn around and leave, pretty rude little guy lol. From then on “Winnie” was now known as “Mommy Winnie” He never left her side. And when Winnie first cooked for him (stir fry beef), the joy in that little guys face. You’d expect him to wolf it down; nope small bites and chew savor the flavor. About a year later he got sick with the exact same fibro sarcoma that Winnie had. Thank God she knew what to do. You think everything is coincidence? Think again God is in control. We had the best board certified surgeons but we lost him. If you got our black and white Christmas card that year, now you know why… Winnie loves to travel. Over almost six years we spent half the year out of the country, two weeks to a month at a time. Winnie’s career took us all over the globe; Greece, Great Britain, Italy, France, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong. Typical Winnie not thinking of herself; was worried about me, putting my career on hold for hers. I told her; “I love you and my place is by your side supporting you in all you do, keeping you safe wherever you go. Being and doing whatever you need whenever you need it”. Love isn’t selfish. And where ever we went around the world both of us were always drawn to the Churches first. To always give thanks to the Lord our God. I can’t imagine traveling without her, can’t imagine most anything without Winnie. We planned on growing old together. For someone so petite she’d take command of a room. Such a bright star, always smiling, bubbly and happy. Our ten years together passed in the blink of an eye. Winnie also enjoyed shopping, and I was a good husband pack mule when she shopped. She loved her handbags and clothes. Especially from Paris and Milan. Along with good food, we have our favorite places around the world. But when we’re home, home is where we like most. There’s a lot of love in our home. We always cooked together switching roles as Chef and Sous Chef. But again always together. Anyone who knows Winnie knows her favorite color is PINK! Pink anything, if she had a Ferrari, yes it would be pink… Something else about Winnie is that growing up in Guangzhou (Canton) China. She never had dolls or stuffed animals, perhaps a homemade doll. Well she made up for it surrounding herself with them. Which made it easy for me for presents buy “pink” and something stuffed and there’s a home run in gift buying. Winnie wasn’t into watches or rings, jewelry etc. Winnie was also a photography model in Hong Kong and Taipei She always thought of herself as Snow White and loved her special Disney large stuffed dwarfs. I was the Prince that kissed her. As I said being home together is what we liked most of all watching her favorite shows Star Trek Next Generation (STGN), NCIS, CSI Miami, James Bond films and especially cooking shows like Jacques Pepin. Back to the stuffed animals…knowing she really liked Star Trek one Christmas I had Patrick Stewart, the STNG Star actor sign a photo for her. Had it framed when she opened it Christmas morning…well it was a “so what”. Winnie said all I want on our walls is us and family. Good thing I bought a super large pink stuffed elephant! Yes, that’s right Winnie loved that! All during these years of travel and fun at home. Enjoying what was truly important, each other. No time was wasted, we both knew time was short and being together is most important to us. I think the first year we were together was the only year without Winnie having surgery, major surgeries. Sometimes twice a year on her arm, major with free flaps, graphs etc. Brain surgery, surgery on her thigh to remove a growth. The amputation of her left arm above the elbow around this time 2016 . With a clear margin we were told she was cancer free, thanks be to God. However within three months it was back, lymph nodes and another surgery to remove them. It metastases into her lung and brain. Now chemo, targeted therapy etc. More suffering for my sweet wife. All the while through all the years, all the surgeries, hospital stays ICU etc…Not once, not a single time did she blame God, get made at God, ask why me etc. Through it all I was her nurse, changing bandages and anything else right up to the end. When Winnie passed away at home with me in my arms July 21, 2017. Winnie always said it’s up to God and …..we have to pray more. Winnie saved my soul by pushing me to find my church and get close to God. I don’t know what I’d do right now if I wasn’t so close to God. If I didn’t have my parish, the good people around me…all because God blessed me with Winnie. Winnie is the love of my life, and loved by so many of you that knew her. Our time together flew bye, too fast. I wish I could go back to live it over again... Life with Winnie was wonderful, ten years of heaven on earth. One piece of advice...don’t take anything for granted. Life can change in the blink of an eye. If someone would have told me a year ago that this is what I'd be faced with a year later, I would have said they were crazy.... A dear Priest told me once...Pain and Suffering God allows bringing a greater good. Personally I couldn’t find anything good in Winnie's passing...until I took my selfishness out of the equation (not so easy, try it sometime...) The "Good" is that my beloved is with God, where in our belief we all want to be one day. Winnie Tso-Curé had an "E" ticket straight to our Lord. The pain and the suffering are left for us here on earth... There is a lot of truth to "only the good die young" for they are God's best, and his best are attacked most violently by the evil one. Cancer is an evil. We who are here have much work to do. Winnie’s favorite part of the Bible is the Book of Job. And did you know Winnie’s Name “Wing-Kei” means “All Glory to God!” God bless my love, my wife Winnie Wing-Kei Tso-Curé Et nos debemus Deo semper fidelis!

Winnie Wing-Kei Tso-Cure

May 6, 1961 - July 21, 2017