Clara Cecilia Choy, 88, peacefully passed away Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, in her home in Sacramento. Born in Denver, Colorado on Dec. 2, 1928 to Lynn Sherman and Cecilia Eunice Lam, her family moved to Salinas when she was very young. She attended Lincoln Elementary, graduated from Salinas High School and attended Hartnell College. She married Frederick Adam Choy in 1956 and lived in San Francisco, Salinas and most recently Sacramento. A mother of four and full-time professional, she held a number of roles including Accounting Manager, Office Manager and Human Resources/Payroll Manager at various small businesses in Salinas. Besides working, she enjoyed keeping busy taking classes, volunteering and pursuing a number of hobbies. She was a 4.0GPA student at Hartnell College, and at the age of 55, she received her certificate of completion as programmer/analyst besides taking languages and professional courses. Clara also was very active with volunteer and charity work in Salinas and Monterey including 18 years at the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Service League where she spent a term as Board Secretary. She also gave her time and skills and was recognized by Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (14 years), Monterey Bay Aquarium (eight years), National Steinbeck Center, National Steinbeck House including serving as Communications Chairman and tutor at San Francisco Chinatown North Beach English Language Center. Clara’s hobbies included walking/running, gardening, knitting/crocheting, self-taught guitar, writing Chinese characters and reading (books and inspirational sayings). She was predeceased by her husband, Fred, and brothers, James and David. Surviving are her two sons and two daughters, Kendrick Choy and wife Hue of Salinas, Brody Choy and wife Mary of Carmichael, Caron Paixao and husband Paul of Sacramento and Tiffany Choy and husband David Speer of Menlo Park; sister-in-law, Ella Lim and husband Sam of Sacramento; nine grandchildren (Derek, Sarah, Vervest, Vanessa, Eric, Matt, Adrienne, Whitney, Jacob) and 11 great-grandchildren (Alexis, Grace, Luke, Eden, Uriah, Madeleine, Kaidence, Serenity, Maxwell, Jordan, Milah Rose) as well as cousins and other relatives in the Bay Area. Memorial services for friends and family will be held in Salinas at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, at First United Methodist Church, 404 Lincoln Ave. Services also will be held in Sacramento at a forthcoming future date in Feb. Those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider a memorial to: · SVMH Service League (Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital), 450 East Romie Lane, Salinas, CA 93901 · Alzheimer’s Association, Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter, 2290 N. First Street, Suite 101, San Jose, CA 95131-2014 · National Steinbeck House, 132 Central Avenue, Salinas, CA 93901.