V1995/12/07 追思會致詞 / By Robert H Dilworth (Re: Dolly生前三個月重回主耶穌懷抱 )

Robert H Dilworth Remarks at December 7, 1995 Memorial Service

for Dolly Tai-Lan Lo

John and Dolly's family asked me to speak today. I should not be speaking. Dolly was

sopposed to speak at my funeral. I hope I can get through this without weeping.

We are all here because we loved her. We need to reaffirm that common experience  by coming together to remember her and how she touched each of our lives. In the process, and afterwards, we can perhaps better understand her life, her struggle for the last two years, and its outcome.

I first met Dolly 17 years ago when she came to clerk in the Taipei office after her first year in law school. I believe Professor Cohen at Harvard Law School had written Bob Yahng that he had an unusual student for us to consider. I discounted that recommendation because law professors often seem to think their students are unusual because the professors are unusual. But the Taipei office was just starting up and we had no other candidates who were Chinese nationals with a Magna cum laude degree from Wellesley College and studying at Harvard Law School. So we took the bold move and offered her a summer position.

When she arrived, it was clear that Dolly was not just unusual. Dolly was special. She

wanted to do everything perfectly. She was a patriot but she was not a chauvinist. She cared a lot about her country and the well being of its people. I saw in her the key to the future of the Taipei office. She could not be recruited by the promise of making money or having power. Those opportunities for Dolly would not be anything that others could not offer her. No, the key to Dolly was to capture her imagination.

We talked a lot about the need to develop in Taiwan an international commercial bar, a group of lawyers who could provide a professional foundation for Taiwan's exploding economic growth. Without such a group of lawyers, Taiwan's economic vitality would be threatened. Economic vitality was in turn essential to Taiwan's freedom.

She saw in our firm an international community of interest; not American, not Chinese. It indeed captured her imagination. I promised Dolly that at Baker & McKenzie she would not have to work for foreigners, but instead she would work with foreigners. At Baker & McKenzie we are all foreigners working together rather  than colonialists.

When she returned to school we kept in touch, perhaps because she did not know any other lawyers who had gone this way before. She selected her courses with a view to what would best prepare her for one day returning to Taiwan. Her personal life led her to stay in Boston for several years after graduation, but I remember discussing which would be the best firm in Boston to prepare her for the time she returned.

I also remember how much she cared for her sister Polly. I visited her on a trip to Boston and that is when I first met Polly. Dolly talked quite seriously about her concerns and hopes for Polly.

When Dolly finally retumed to Taipei she was prepared and she started in high gear. That was her only gear. In many ways she achieved her goals. As John Klotsche has said, the Taipei office would not be what it is if it had not been for Dolly. She as much as anyone nurtured, coaxed and even coerced the Taipai office in its growth. But, of course, task was never complete. She always wanted it to be better. And it always got better, little by little, day by day. And it is her legacy.

But that is not what her life was about.

Her life became more nearly complete when she and John married. An-chi and Lu-an are beautiful children. Any parent would love to claim bragging rights for these children. They are truly fine legacies of a truly fine pair of humans.

But her job and her family are not really what her life was all about.

Two years ago she called to ask for some help. I was on the way out the door. I think I had a meeting at the office and Bob Cunningham was already in the drive to pick me up. I hoped she could cover it quickly.

She began by asking if I was okay, because she had some bad news and, as usual, she was worried about someone else. I thought it must be something bad; maybe someone was leaving the Taipei office. In the same tones she would use cover a client problem she covered her diagnosis and her prognosis. She said she had, I think, acute lymphoblastic leukemia; that she might have only weeks, or perhaps as long as three months to live without treatment, and that she needed to get some information about treatment optiions, medical coverage, firm programs, etc.

She did not want anyone to know, however, because of her worry about the impact on the Taibei office. I told her there were a lot of things I would worry about more, but that I would do the best I could and would tell no one.

We talked a lot after that. Dolly went after A.L.L. with the same intensity that she brought to every other problem and task. She showed a strength of character and will I do not expect to encounter again on this earth. If will power could defeat leukemia she would survive. She very nearly did.

John Klotsche mentioned Dolly's efforts to promote anti-cancer work in Taiwan. Perhaps we her partners will go forward with an effort to support such work in Taiwan.

But that is also not what her life was about.

Faith and I visited her in Taipei in February 1994. Dolly's mother told me then that she was praying for Dolly, that Dolly would be saved, but that Dolly had rejected Christianity. John too was a Christian, but Christianity was for Dolly. It seems Dolly thought it was a white man's religion. I found this strange because I had been saved in a Chinese church.

After that, Faith and I prayed a lot for Dolly. But we did not want to intrude on her privacy or take advantage of her distress.

Then, last August Dolly called. She said she had been holding out on me, that the cancer cells had come back and that it looked like she only had , at most, 2-3 weeks to live. I had been planning to come see her on the way back from a trip to Alaska in four weeks, but we decided that timetable would not work. I arranged to come in two weeks.

I also decided that I should at last tell Dolly what I thought really did matter. I wrote her a letter telling her about what I believed and how I had become a Christian after having been an atheist for most of my life. Christianity, and other religions, had been, in my view, for weak people, people who were afraid of thunder and lightning, people who needed comfort in a world they could not control.

I told her that I would love her no less if she came out at a different place than I did, but that I wanted her to have the same chance that I had had to claim eternal life. I sent her my own bible with that letter. I sent her my own bible because I knew that Dolly loved me and that she would not throw away my bible.

Dolly began to read the bible, again in high gear. She told me that she was reading from her heart. In October she called to tell me that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her savior and claimed her birthright of eternal life. I cried some, but they were not bitter tears. I rejoiced in her salvation.

Esther Harford has spoken today of her visit with Dolly last week. Dolly knew then, better than anyone, that she was looking death in the face. She again stated her belief in her salvation and talked about the promise that her seed would also be saved. Last night I went through her notebook and read the verses she had copied from the bible. I have no doubt she knew exactly what it was about.

Better than anyone I know, Dolly, like the Apostle Paul, looked Death in the eye and could say

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55.

And that is what it was all about. Dolly has run the race. She has kept the faith. She has claimed her crown of eternal life. Dolly has won.

Amen.

(網路翻譯，僅供參考) 羅伯特·H·迪爾沃斯 (Robert H Dilworth) 在 1995 年 12 月 7 日追悼會上的講話 為陸台蘭 John和Dolly的家人今天邀請我來演講。我不應該說話。Dolly是打算在我的葬禮上講話。我希望我能不哭泣地度過這一切。 我們都在這裡，因為我們愛她。我們需要聚集在一起記住她以及她如何影響我們每個人的生活，從而重申這一共同經歷。在這個過程中，以及之後，我們也許可以更好地理解她的生活，她過去兩年的奮鬥及其結果。 我第一次見到Dolly是在 17 年前，當時她在法學院讀完一年級後來到台北辦事處擔任文員。我相信哈佛法學院的科恩教授曾寫信給鮑伯·揚（Bob Yahng），說他有一位不尋常的學生供我們考慮。我對這個建議不以為然，因為法學教授似乎常常認為他們的學生不尋常，因為教授不尋常。但台北辦事處剛成立，我們沒有其他候選人是擁有衛斯理學院優等生學位並在哈佛法學院學習的華人。因此，我們採取了大膽的舉措，為她提供了一個暑期職位。 當她到達時，很明顯Dolly不僅僅是不尋常。Dolly很特別。她想要把每件事都做到完美。她是一位愛國者，但她不是沙文主義者。她非常關心她的國家和人民的福祉。我在她身上看到了台北辦事處未來的關鍵。她不能因為賺錢或擁有權力的承諾而被招募。對Dolly來說，這些機會並不是別人不能給她的。不，Dolly的關鍵是激發她的想像。 我們多次討論了在台灣發展國際商業律師事務所的必要性，以及一群可以為台灣爆炸性經濟成長提供專業基礎的律師團隊。沒有這樣的律師團隊，台灣的經濟活力就會受到威脅。經濟活力反過來對台灣的自由至關重要。 她在我們公司看到了一個國際化的利益共同體；不是美國人，也不是中國人。這確實激發了她的想像。我向Dolly保證，在貝克麥堅時她不必為外國人工作，但她會和外國人一起工作。在貝克·麥堅時，我們都是一起工作的外國人，而不是殖民主義者。 當她回到學校後，我們保持聯繫，也許是因為她不認識其他律師曾經走過這條路。她選擇課程的目的是為她有一天返回台灣做好最好的準備。她的個人生活導致她畢業後在波士頓待了幾年，但我記得討論過哪家公司是波士頓最好的公司，可以為她回國做好準備。 我還記得她是多麼關心她的妹妹Polly。我在去波士頓旅行時拜訪了她，那是我第一次見到Polly。Dolly非常嚴肅地談論了她對Polly的擔憂和希望。 當Dolly終於束裝返台，回到台北時，她已做好準備並開始高速運轉。那是她唯一的裝備。她在很多方面實現了自己的目標。正如約翰·克洛切（John Klotsche）所說，如果沒有Dolly，台北辦事處就不會是現在的樣子。她和其他人一樣培育、照顧甚至拉拔Baker & McKenzie台北辦事處的持續成長。但是，當然，任務從未完成。她一直希望事情能變得更好。而且它總是一點一點、一天一天變得更好。這是她的遺產。 但這不是她生活的目的。 當她和John結婚時，她的生活變得更加完整。安琦和陸安是漂亮的孩子。任何父母都願意為這些孩子吹牛。他們是一對真正優秀的人類的優秀遺產。 但她的工作和家庭並不是她生活的真正意義。 兩年前，她打電話尋求協助。我正在出門的路上。我想我在辦公室開會，鮑伯‧坎寧安已經開車來接我了。我希望她能盡快覆蓋它。 她首先問我是否還好，因為她有一些壞消息，而且像往常一樣，她擔心別人。我想這一定是有什麼不好的事情；也許有人要離開台北辦事處。她用同樣的語氣來報道客戶的問題，她報道了她的診斷和預後。我認為她說她患有急性淋巴性白血病；如果不接受治療，她可能只有幾週甚至三個月的生命，她需要獲得一些有關治療選擇、醫療保險、公司計劃等的資訊。 但她不想讓任何人知道，因為她擔心這會對台北辦事處帶來影響。我告訴她，有很多事情我會更擔心，但我會盡力而為，不會告訴任何人。 之後我們聊了很多。Dolly跟隨 A.L.L.她以與解決其他問題和任務相同的強度。她表現出了一種堅強的性格，我不希望在這個地球上再次遇到。如果意志力能夠戰勝白血病，她就能活下來。她幾乎做到了。 John Klotsche提到Dolly為推動台灣抗癌工作所做的努力。也許我們她的合作夥伴會繼續努力支持台灣的這類工作。 但這也不是她生活的目的。 1994年2月，費絲和我去台北拜訪了她。約翰也是基督徒，但基督教是為Dolly準備的。Dolly似乎認為這是白人的宗教。我覺得很奇怪，因為我是在中國教會得救的。 從那以後，我和費絲為Dolly祈禱了很多。但我們不想侵犯她的隱私或利用她的痛苦。 然後，去年八月Dolly打來。她說她一直在拖延我，癌細胞又回來了，看起來她最多只能活兩到三週了。我原本計劃在四個星期後從阿拉斯加旅行回來的路上去看她，但我們認為這個時間表行不通。我安排兩週後來。 我還決定最後應該告訴Dolly我認為真正重要的事。我給她寫了一封信，告訴她我的信仰以及我如何在成為無神論者之後成為基督徒。在我看來，基督教和其他宗教是為弱者、害怕雷電的人、在自己無法控制的世界中需要安慰的人服務的。 Dolly又開始全神貫注地讀聖經。她告訴我她是發自內心地讀書。十月份，她打電話告訴我，她已經接受耶穌基督為她的救主，並要求她與生俱來的永生權利。我哭了一些，但那不是苦澀的淚。我為她的得救感到高興。 艾絲特·哈福德今天談到了她上週拜訪Dolly的事。Dolly比任何人都清楚，她正面臨死亡。她再次表達了她對自己得救的信念，並談到了她的後裔也會得救的應許。昨晚我翻閱了她的筆記本，讀了她從聖經中抄下來的經文。我毫不懷疑她清楚地知道這是關於什麼的。 Dolly比我認識的任何人都更好，就像使徒保羅一樣，直視死亡的眼睛，可以說 死啊！你得勝的權勢在哪裡？死啊！你的毒鉤在哪裡？ (哥林多前書 15:55) 這就是全部內容。Dolly跑完了比賽。她一直堅守著信念。她已經獲得了永生的冠冕。Dolly贏了。 阿門。