Frank Tou

Life for Frank was, quite frankly, always filled with some sort of adventure. Born in Vietnam 1956 into a family of five during the Vietnam war, he escaped on a small boat to Hong Kong where he stayed in refugee camps, worked at a radio factory as a piece worker, and eventually immigrated to the US not really speaking much English. Education was always important to him so he studied hard and got accepted at Seattle University and graduated with an electrical engineering degree (although philosophy was his one true passion). He even took some summer courses at UW where he loved studying in Gowen Hall. 

Next, he found a job as an electrical engineer and worked in aerospace for over 30 years, and got the opportunity to travel around the globe, going to places such as Frankfurt, Iran, Turkmenistan, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and many many more. Frank met his wife Hongli in China and they later tied the knot in 1999 and settled into their home in Seattle where they had a son, Aaron, and a daughter, Alyssa. 

In 2016, Frank was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. The doctors gave him only one more year to live, but that didn’t phase him.  He faced cancer head on with grace and fierce determination to survive, and inspired many people around him with his bravery and positive outlook on life. Never complaining about his treatments, Frank took whatever cancer threw his way and threw it right back. Cancer had nothing on him, and we are grateful that we were gifted with 6 more years with him. 

Frank, being the curious soul that he was, always knew how to keep himself occupied and never forgot to slow down and enjoy everything the world offered him. One of his philosophies is “活到老, 学到老” which is all about lifelong learning. He diligently practiced meditation, and enjoyed learning Tai Chi and Kung Fu, spreading this passion down to his kids. Over the years he also picked up calligraphy. He really enjoyed the calm it brought him, and he went through many stacks of empty practice books to get his words looking exactly the way he wanted them to. His most recent hobby was skateboarding at Lincoln park, finding that he enjoyed the thrill of flying down the waterfront. 

Cancer never stopped Frank from having fun, and one of his fondest memories was visiting Taiwan, and getting to go to the Taiwan branch of the Buddhist temple he goes to in Seattle. 

He became more involved in the Buddhist community in the greater Seattle area, and read lots of philosophy books. 

Frank passed away peacefully on October 13th, 2022, early in the morning surrounded by his loving family, and was able to open his eyes briefly to see his family in the room and say goodbye as he went onto the next chapter of his life.

We will remember Frank for his curiosity, love of languages, and ability to connect with the places and people that he met with his bubbly personality. He will live on in all of our hearts!