Gina and Christopher Yeh, mother and son, were two wonderful and exceptional people who, in their brief time with us, managed to touch all of our lives. Very rarely are we fortunate enough to know two individuals who were blessed with intelligence and talent, but at the same time were open, honest and giving to all they knew.

Remarkably, both Gina and Christopher shared so many traits that at times, they were indistinguishable. As Christopher grew older, it became obvious that he had inherited many qualities from his mother. Both were intelligent and over-achieving as well as caring and giving. Both enjoyed life fully and never cast a shadow upon others. And both firmly held on to the bond they had as mother and son. 

Christopher Yeh was born March 15, 1985 in Panorama City, California. It was obvious from the beginning that he would be a person who was always ahead of the curve.

Christopher started kindergarten at 4 years old, a year ahead of most children. Throughout his academic career, he would always be a year ahead of his classmates and the youngest in his class. His educational achievement was stellar from elementary school through college. He was a straight-A student all the way through high school. Sprinkling his academic achievements were his extracurricular successes; at Suzanne Middle School, he represented his school in “MathCounts”, a regional math competition. In his last year of middle school, he remained ahead of the curve by taking math classes across the street at Walnut High School. When he did reach high school, he took numerous AP/Honors classes. In 11th grade, he started taking college-level classes. By the time he graduated high school, he had already earned enough credits to receive a degree from Mt. San Antonio College.

Complementing his academic achievements were his athletic accomplishments. Christopher began playing tennis when he was 10 years old and he entered and won many junior tournament championships. He joined his high school varsity tennis team during his freshman year and was team captain for three years. During those three years, he won a regional championship every year while he was team captain.

Christopher’s talents and skills paved the way to his entry into the University of California, Berkeley as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major in the Fall of 2002. In college, he continued to excel academically. He finished his majors in three and a half years and graduated in June of 2006. Because he had finished so many undergraduate units prior to starting UC Berkeley, he found that his interests had diversified and he began taking graduate-level computer engineering courses as well as several business courses.

In the Fall of 2005, Christopher attended on-campus interviews and was offered a job with Cisco Systems on the spot as an engineer. Even before he had finished college, he had already found himself a career position. Again, Christopher had remained ahead of the curve.

Despite his achievements, Christopher was never a single-minded person. He was an avid poker player. He created websites, traveled and played basketball. Although he favored Protoss, he could defeat you with any race in Starcraft. Those who knew Christopher described him as goofy with a sophisticated sense of humor, yet down to earth and honest to everyone he knew. Above all, he was never the type of person who showed off or bragged about his accomplishments. As a result, few outside his immediate friends and family knew just how talented and gifted Christopher really was.

But perhaps the greatest attribute that Christopher possessed was that he was a true friend to all he knew. Whether you had known Christopher for many years or for a few months, he treated everyone he knew with kindness and generosity. He would always find a way to keep in touch with you, whether through the internet, or the phone, or in person. To all who were fortunate enough to know him, he was extremely likeable, loyal, and always willing to send you a link to a funny video he found on the internet.

Throughout both of their lives, both Gina and Christopher were people who had a profound influence upon their friends and family through their personalities, as well as a profound influence upon the world with their accomplishments. They gave to everyone around them, but they especially gave to each other.

Gina and Christopher were not only mother and son, they were also best friends. Just as the two of them were inseparable during their time with us on this earth, they will forever be together as they watch over us from heaven.