When Chris was a patient at the National Cancer Center she would get up early and take a walk around the grounds. Soon she was doing it with another patient who had become a friend. The word spread and then there were eight or nine women enjoying a morning walk together. The nurses must have marveled at what a cheerful group they were.

Walking and talking were important for Chris and me, too. For over 12 years we lived in the same neighborhood and met weekly for walking and talking. During summer vacations we called each other nearly every morning at 6 am and went for an hour long walk, taking pleasure in the flowers, trees and mountains.

Chris fought cancer for 12 years with regular medical treatments, with vitamins, alternative therapies and creative visualization where she used spiritual power to try to beat the disease. She didn't want people to think of her as sick and with her love of new clothes, parties, dinners with friends and her unwavering energy for getting a job done, she succeeded.

Chris was born and grew up in New York City. She came from a fascinating family - her father was anÊ aspiring actor, her grandfather was a professional bassist and her mother and grandmother excellent singers. The house was filled with music. Chris's younger brother grew up to become a singer and her younger sister became a writer-artist-potter who also loves singing. Chris loved music and appreciated literature and art as well. Her grandmother had instilled in the children the love of books by reading to them often and as Chris noticed, this was also improving her grandmother's English. The grandparents were first generation immigrants from Czechoslovakia. Her grandfather had mastered eight languages but English was tough for him, so he chatted with young Christine in his native Czech. Days spent playing in nearby Central Park and family outings to Coney Island were happy memories for her.


In school she showed a talent and liking for mathematics. Rather than memorizing formulas she often worked problems out the long way. When a junior-high teacher criticized her for this she could defend her way of doing problems. She said it was the beginning of her awareness of her inner strength. She went on to get a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) in mathematics and an M.A in education at City College of New York and became a math teacher in one of the hardest teaching environments in the world, the N.Y.C. public high school system. Since these students had fallen between the cracks academically, a heroic effort in relating to them as people was essential to teach them even elementary level school math. Chris, as her brother has said, was a great math teacher. Chris enjoyed helping her own children with their math homework and bought books so she could understand recent developments in math education. For relaxation she sometimes enjoyed just sitting down and solving some math problems.

Chris met her future husband Tadashi Chinen in N.Y. in the summer of 1978, and they soon decided to marry. When she came to Japan she was a new bride. They built a happy and peaceful family together with their two daughters. Tadashi's mother also lived with them. Chris appreciated the unique quality of each family member: her smiling mother-in-law who supported her unconditionally; her positive thinking husband who helped her through many twists and downturns; her spirited older daughter and her easy-going younger daughter, who have grown up to be lovely young women.

When Chris came to Japan in 1980, her teaching career changed direction and she became an accomplished teacher of English as a foreign language. Again, her empathy and rapport earned her the respect and affection of her students and colleagues.

Chris ran her own English Conversation school, "Red Apple", for about ten years. She was one of the first people in Fukuoka to teach one and two year olds. Through the years she taught at a variety of universities and institutes, including Fukuoka Women's University, Kyushu Institute of Design and many other schools. She was on the faculty of Fukuoka University for seven and a half years and the faculty of Kyushu University for the past year.

Teaching nurses at the Fukuoka Nursing School and knowing them to be enthusiastic but having no suitable English conversation text that included medical terms and dialogues appropriate for a medical setting, she set out to write one. Her own experience at hospitals had taught her that nurses spend more time with the patients than doctors do. She knew first hand about the tension and frustration on both sides when communication problems occur. Her purpose was, not only to teach useful language, but also to help nurses understand cultural differences. "Christine's Easy English Conversation for Nurses" was a success and the publishers asked her to write an intermediate text which she completed last year from her hospital bed called (in Japanese) "Level-Up English Conversation for Nurses". Her other textbook, "English Live", used interviewing techniques to teach English conversation. The material for this book was developed from her work at Fukuoka Women's University.

Chris touched many people's lives. How was it that she could find a common ground and rapport with so many and have the energy to build such deep relationships? She did so patiently, kindly, listening carefully and always giving her thoughts clearly, honestly and gently.

Chris had a gift for friendship.

(Marita Kamada)

Christine Lee Chinen
Mother and wife,
Friend, colleague, author, teacher,
Died August 30th of cancer.
She was 52 years old.
She leaves a husband, two daughters and her mother in law. of the home,
A brother and a sister in New York City,
Plus a host of friends, colleagues, and students.

• Reminiscences
• Books