Jane Yuen Chang, the last member of a Chinese family that once owned several businesses on Molokai and Oahu and extended credit to plantation residents in time of need, died March 20 in Maunaloa, Molokai. She was 91.
"It’s the end of an era,of a pioneering Chinese family who started out as rice and taro farmers andmade their mark in business on Molokai and inHonolulu, and created a name forthemselves in Hawaii history," said Douglas Chong, president of the HawaiiChinese History Center.
"They all worked together. They were an amazingly colorful family."
Chang was the daughter of Yun Kee Yuen, who opened the first pineapple plantation store on Molokai in the 1920s.
The family operated the Hop Inn, the first Chinese restaurant on Molokai, and Y.K. Yuen operated the fishpond Keawanui. The family also once had a gift shop in Waikiki called Golden Lotus.
Chong said Chang’s father-in-law, Chang Chau, was a major supporter of Sun Yat-sen in his effort to overthrow the Qing Dynasty in China and establish a republic.
Noe Meyer Keliikipi, executive director of the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center, said the Yuens helped a lot of struggling Molokai plantation families by extending credit, and their generosity extended to the fishpond.
"Y.K. Yuen … shared generously with the community by letting people fish there," she said.
The Yuens also believed in educating women. Jane’s sister, Marybeth Yuen Maul, became the first female judge of Asian-American ancestry in Hawaii, according to the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center.
Chang herself earned a master’s degree in microbiology at the University of Wisconsin.
After her husband, Dr. Kenneth Y.E. Chang, of Honolulu died, Changfulfilled her dream of returning to Molokai in 2000, her family said.
"She had the aloha spiritin her," Keliikipi said. "She carried on the Yuen legacy, caring andsharing with people in the community who neededhelp and not expectinganything in return."
Chang is survived by son Dr. Ken Chang; daughters Laurel Kime, Momi Chinn and Heidi Chang; and fivegrandchildren.
A celebration of Chang’s life will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in Hoolehua, Molokai, on Saturday, with visitation at10 a.m. and service at11 a.m.
The family asks attendees to join them for lunch atthe Fellowship Hall.
Donationsin Chang’s memory may be sent to Grace Episcopal Church on Molokaior St.Peter’s Episcopal Church in Honolulu.
