John Hyunh (29)
1992 - April 25, 2021
John’s father had immigrated from southern China to Vietnam and then immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1991, when he was in his 20s. There he met his wife. He worked in a furniture factory and his wife was a seamstress. John was the oldest brother of 2 sisters. Both his sisters fear that the crime was motivated by the same kind of hatefulness that has been sweeping the nation and making thousands of Asian Americans (some reports say millions) the target of violent attacks and racial slurs. John, a health insurance salesman and Amway entrepreneur, was stabbed to death by his neighbor, Ian Patrick Williams, 25 of Bothell -- over wearing a face mask outside his apartment. John and his wife were married in November—five months before he was killed. On the day of the funeral, John’s parents chose to follow Chinese tradition. They lit incense, offered a spread of food and alcohol to his wandering spirit, and burned paper replicas of money, all meant to ease his transition into the other world. Following the funeral was a memorial where more than 100 guests showed up. Each one of them came up to the sisters and shared a story of how John had touched their lives.