When we were little girls, Mom used to dress us alike. Everyone thought that we were twins but we were not. I was the more reserved and serious one while Marie was the more energetic, silly, giggly, fun-loving one. Growing up, I have always tried to follow in big sister's footsteps. When she became a Brownie, I became a Brownie. When she became a Girl Scout, I became a Girl Scout. When she played the violin, guess who took up violin? When she took up cooking, I tried my best but Marie was always a better cook. Marie's favorite foods: PASTA, PASTA, PASTA---oodles of noodles or macaroni. She never gets tired of it. Also Potstickers, Wontons (a true Lum trait), Jellyfish, and Malasadas from Leonard's in Hawaii. Marie has very decerning taste buds, it is the Tso/Lum genes. She will let you know if it is not to her liking, but when it is good, she cannot stop raving about it. One of Marie's hobbies is growing orchids. I remember bringing over to her what looked like a dead stump in a pot and asked her if she can do anything with it. She frowned and said, "Well, we'll see." Well, 2 years later, after much patience and care, she told me that it is finally blooming. Another of her passions is SHOPPING! Marie has an eye for fashion and accessories and is always looking for a good deal! Her spare bedroom is her walk-in closet. Another of her passions is the love of music. She used to played the violin and viola and was very good at it. Later, she decided to try her hand at piano. Marie loved classical music, Mozart was her favorite. A special night out would be going out to dinner, then to the Oakland Symphony. She also loved contemporary music and going to Broadway musicals. There was one incident that I recalled about ten years ago. My brother, George, invited Rick, Marie, and I to an Electronics Show in Vegas. Lots of neat things to see. Somehow, George roped Marie and I into participating in this contest, the grand prize was Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 software. It is REALLY EASY he said. Just answer some questions, and the quickest team will win a prize. Little did we know, that we ended up singing karaoke to the Beatle's, "It's A Hard Days Night" while being as animated as possible while the audience would be the judge. Now Marie and I can sing in tune, but not George. Unfortunately, he was holding the mic and singing the loudest. Marie and I were mortified. But the audience loved us and we ended up with the grand prize. Some of the most memorable times we had were at the CSI (cousins, sisters, and in-laws) weekends. We never got to have our own slumber party when we were young, so we were making up for lost time. Each night, there would be 6 or 7 of us yakking away. Rick and Marie were gracious enough to have us over. It was a great place to relax: no cooking, cleaning, husbands, or kids. We ate out for every meal. That's because Marie knows all the good places to eat out. Sometimes, we would go to the Farmer's Market to check out their fare and sample their food. On other times, we would walk the opposite direction towards Fisherman's Wharf and get our crab sandwich and clam chowder. In yet another direction, we would walk to Chinatown and Downtown to shop. Most often, we liked to play Mah Jong. Marie loves to win. After one such a successful CSI weekend, we decided to do it more often. Marie was great with kids. She was very devoted to her two granddaughters, Maggie and Stella. Like all grandmothers, she could not help talking about the girls to everyone she sees. She loved to dote on them. Through the years, we shared many things we had in common, such as shopping, love of music, good food, and reading a good mystery. But most important of all is what our parents taught us, that Family comes first in all that we do. After Dad, Mom, and our brother Phillip passed away, Marie became head of our family. She took her role seriously, over-seeing George's and my welfare. It really drew us even closer as a family. Marriage to Rick, along with daughter Tina, and eventually Matt and granddaughters Maggie and Stella, made her life complete. Marie was very passionate in her beliefs, sincere to all, and generous to a fault. I can truly say that Marie was ONE OF A KIND, and she did things HER WAY. She has touched our lives in many ways. I will miss her sorely. In Loving Memory, Edna