Since December 2008 George and I emailed each other much oftener than ever before, discussing the details of his new version of the Chinese translation of Helen Snow’s book the Song of Arirang and the possibility to publish it in China. While I was working along with Mr. Shu Zhang on the possibility to publish it in Beijing, I received an email from Vicken and Linnea on March 4, informing me that their dear father passed away on March 2. I was shocked to learn this bad news. Vicken and Linnea, George’s two daughters, told me that their father continued to work towards his goal of promoting the Romanization of Asian languages till his last days.
A distinguished professor of political science, George was a specialist on Asian studies. What is more, he was a master of Asian languages, a WWII veteran, a patriot, a peace maker, an ambassador of friendship and a devoted friend of the Chinese people. George and I had a friendship of more than 20 years. It was Helen Foster Snow who introduced George to me. In early 1980’s I began to communicate with him who was working on nominating Helen Foster Snow for Noble Peace Prize. Ever since then we met many times in Los Angeles, Madison, Connecticut, Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai on various occasions.
Though we had a difference of 20 years in age, he treated me as an intimate friend and working partner. An extremely gentle person, George was easy going, fun loving, open, and interested in everything. A senior citizen of 80 plus, he was always energetic and enthusiastic, full of passion towards people and his work. He spoke many languages and seemed to know every corner of the world. George was a generous scholar and teacher, always willing to share what he had with others. We had many memorable days together in the past 25 years, during which he generously shared his life experience with me. He was a unique specialist on Asian Studies. His major and specialty was not chosen at school out of his interest, but determined by his wartime experience.