Don Sun

My friend Don Sun passed away last week from cancer.  It’s been a devastating blow.  He leaves behind two sons and countless friends he’s touched over the years. 

I first met Don in the early days of my presidential campaign.  I was pitching myself to a group of elderly Asian American community leaders as a fledgling presidential candidate in San Francisco.  I gave a speech about how our families came to this country for a better life, but now this country needs us to step up and do more it because it is falling prey to division.  We can help bring it back together.  They were fairly stoic so I wasn’t sure how it went. 

Afterwards, Don took me aside.  He said something that would change my life.  “I have dedicated my life to helping Asian American political leaders rise.  You are the real deal.  I have been waiting for you for years.  Helping you is the most impactful thing that I can do.  So I am going to drop everything else and dedicate myself to your campaign.”  I didn’t know quite how to respond, but simply nodded and said, “Thank you.” 

After that, Don became a constant presence in my life for the next four years.  At first my small team didn’t know how to receive this smiling 60-year old Asian man who just showed up in Iowa and New Hampshire.  But he quickly became beloved by all, as he would fold himself into the backseat of the rental vehicle for hours, seeming thrilled to be there no matter what the circumstances.  Many people thought that he was my father or uncle, which he took as a compliment.  He would help out with any task, no matter how small. 

As the campaign wound on, we would start having “Don events” – Don would organize the Asian American community wherever we went.  Months later, I was in a beautiful home in Southern California with a group of hundreds of supporters that Don had organized.  He did the same in Portland, Minnesota, Austin, Seattle and anyplace else that we went.  Our presidential campaign went on to raise $40 million from hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom had never been involved in politics before.  Don was behind a lot of that energy.  He would say, “Not just pictures, donate money!”  He was with me and Evelyn in Iowa and New Hampshire for months. 

After the campaign, Don organized youth camps for Asian American high school students to develop leadership skills. He started a PAC called “Asian Americans Forward” that supports political candidates at every level.  And he continued to connect me to communities around the country where I could lend a hand, in part because he felt that I needed to keep going.  “You should run for governor!”  We spoke regularly and saw each other often.  He would join my family for dinner in New York when he was in town.  Evelyn loved Don – he was part of our family. 

In late 2023, Don was mourning the loss of his longtime partner, but it seemed that he was bouncing back.  In January though I called him and he said that he’d been sick in bed.  He was having trouble keeping food down.  He said he was going to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I encouraged him to do so, and had a sinking feeling.  Don was always so energetic, and he sounded weak on the phone. 

After visiting the emergency room, he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.  The cancer had spread to multiple organs throughout his body.  The doctors gave him 2 to 4 weeks to live. 

It was a shock to everyone.  Don had been hale and hearty just weeks earlier.  I jumped on a plane to visit him and then came back again days later. 3 weeks later he was gone. 

He said to me on his hospital bed as I clasped his hand, “Be the leader for all of America, not just Chinese Americans or Asian Americans.  You are our best hope to bring everyone together.” 

He also said, “I’m just an ordinary person.  The world will keep on going without me.  I’ve lived a good life.” 

He was wrong about the first part.  Don Sun was an extraordinary person who brought so much positive energy into the world.  He touched so many lives because he was selfless. 

You know the person who believes in you even more than you believe in yourself?  Don was that person for me.  I’ll miss him terribly. 

Rest in peace Don.  I love you.  I’ll miss you.  Keep smiling down on us.  We’ll do our best to make you proud.