"One Less Asian": Woman Gets Handwritten Note After Father Dies In US

Byong Choi's wife, Yong, 82, received a handwritten, cursive letter at her Leisure World Seal Beach retirement community home postmarked the same date as the funeral. It read, "Now that Byong is gone makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World."

Mourning has been especially painful for the family Byong Choi left behind. The 83-year-old retired accountant and restaurateur died of tuberculosis in his bone marrow on Feb. 24 in Orange County, Calif., but his wife and four daughters couldn't hold a funeral Mass in his honor until March 19 because of coronavirus restrictions. That date will now leave an indelible mark on a family coping with loss but is also a bleak reminder of how insidious anti-Asian racism can be. The following Monday, Byong Choi's wife, Yong, 82, received a handwritten, cursive letter at her Leisure World Seal Beach retirement community home postmarked the same date as the funeral. It read, "Now that Byong is gone makes it one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World. You frickin Asians are taking over our American community!"