Moses Puichuen Lai

It is with a sad heart that we share the news that Moses Puichuen Lai passed away on December 29, 2022. He was 83 years old. He was a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather and beloved teacher. He will be missed.

Moses was born in Hong Kong to a large and loving family. He attended Hong Kong University and discovered he was born to teach. His first teaching position was at Tsung Tsin College in Hong Kong. His sense of adventure led him to the United States in 1969 where he accepted a teaching at position at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He made it further West, attending the University of Washington in Seattle to get his master’s degree. He became a professor at Fort Steilacoom Community College, now Pierce College in Lakewood, WA, where he taught Geography and Geology until his retirement in 2008.

With retirement his focus turned to his garden in DuPont, WA, which he designed himself from the gazebo to the koi pond with countless types of Japanese maple trees and a variety of roses. Some of which he had cultivated for years. He built his dream garden with one thing in mind – friends and family – two of the most important things to him. He also loved to travel. He visited many countries, bringing his children on many travel adventures, visiting family every step of the way.

Moses loved to tell stories and loved to be around people. There is nothing he enjoyed more than sharing a meal with friends and family. To him that was the most important thing. To the very end, people always commented on his wonderful smile.

Moses is survived by one brother and three sisters, his four children and eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

An open house vigil/visitation will be held at Powers Funeral Home in Puyallup, WA, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 13.

Burial services will be at Parkland Lutheran Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 15 with the memorial service held at 2:00 p.m. at Parkland Lutheran Church. There will be a reception after the service.

For those that cannot attend there will be a livestream option for the memorial. The link for the livestream can be found here - https://parklandlutheran.org/parkland-lutheran-school-sunday-service-live-stream/

Flowers can be sent in his memory to Powers Funeral Home in Puyallup, WA.