Mayyun Chyi

Mayyun (May) Chyi, of West Hartford, CT, peacefully passed away on Thursday, December 7, 2023, surrounded by her loving family, after a hard fought 9-month battle with lung cancer. May was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 17, 1950, and was the youngest of seven children. She deeply understood the importance of family, and she mastered the art of splitting a banana seven ways. At twenty years old, she came to the United States and earned her degree in nutrition at Utah State University. This is where she also met fellow Taiwanese student Jason Yow-Bor Chyi. May and Jason married in 1975. May and Jason settled down in West Hartford because of the school system's strong reputation, and they lived in their home for over four decades. She worked at Travelers, United Healthcare, and HP for many years, until she retired in 2015. May dedicated much of her time to leading the CT chapter of Taiwanese Association of Connecticut (TAC) and was a passionate activist for Taiwanese Independence. In her retirement, she also enjoyed gardening at her community plot at Westmoor Park and walking in her neighborhood, as well as spending time with her friends and grandchildren. She will be remembered for her open-heartedness and how she always welcomed new and old friends into her home and life. She loved to host big family gatherings, especially for Thanksgiving, and she always made sure to invite the newly arrived Taiwanese college student or the nephew's new girlfriend. Everyone was warmly invited in. May is predeceased by her husband, Jason Yow-Bor Chyi. She is survived by her three children, Leo, Jennifer and Stanley Chyi, as well as her grandchildren Emmett and Dahlia Kaplan, and Eloise and Jasper Chyi. After Jason's passing in 2014, she led an unforgettable family trip to Taiwan, helping to further connect her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren, with their ancestral homeland and extended family from both sides of the family tree. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to these organizations that were important to May: FAPA (Formosan Assoc. for Public Affairs) at https://fapa.org or Westmoor Park (Donations accepted online or mail check payable to "The Westmoor Park Fund" to Town of West Hartford, Westmoor Park Fund, 119 Flagg Road, West Hartford, CT 06117) Published by Hartford Courant on Dec. 23, 2023.