Dickie Chan

My name is Bill Endres and it is a great honor for me to be speaking to you today about my dear friend Dickie Chan. I want to personally thank the family for allowing me this opportunity to share with you some of my thoughts and memories of a great man.

Dickie was a unique individual and I can honestly say I have never met a person like him nor do I think I ever will. He was a self made man who came from humble beginnings working 3 jobs saving his money and working tirelessly to become the leader of a multi million dollar enterprise that encompassed so many different businesses.

Dickie was a powerful and respected leader whose time passed too soon. He had very sound principles of business. He pushed to always have something new to offer his customers. He was always honest in his business dealings and expected those that he dealt with to be the same. He believed in working hard to accomplish more than his competition. I enjoyed seeing him interact with customers and those who he worked with everyday. He truly loved those that showed him loyalty and respect and if he trusted you his trust was unwavering.

Dickie and I spent a lot of time discussing business but we also spoke about our families. Dickie commented many times how he wanted to have his family involved in the business. I know his wish was that his legacy would be the continued growth of the business he started and bore the Dickson name. He would be very proud to know this is in fact going to happen.

I think Dickie was one of the luckiest people I have ever met. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. We once went to the horse races together and were arriving late as the first race was about to start. We rushed into the clubhouse and Dickie immediately grabbed some bet cards and looked at the TV screen with the odds on the horses and began filling out the cards. I of course studied the betting line and made my picks trying to calculate who had a better chance of winning and we both placed a bet just as the bell went of for the race. We hurried to the glass to see the race and I watched as my horses began to fade into the pack but Dickie began to get excited. When the horses crossed the finish line He had won. With the race was over Dickie and I went to the cashier to cash in his ticket and imagine my surprise to see him collect $12,000 on a $50 bet. I was thinking that Dickie really knew how to handicap the horses and I asked him for his secret only to learn he had bet the numbers on his license plate.

I believe Dickie lived his life as he wanted and he lived life to the fullest. He loved to entertain his customers and enjoyed a good meal and good wine and conversation. He loved China and the culture here but he also reached out to others to learn of their culture and to understand more about them so he could build his business based on their needs.

One of the most admirable traits that Dickie had was his ability to reach across to an individual from a different culture and make him truly feel like he was part of his family. I speak from experience on this point, as this is how Dickie made me feel.

It is said that in life you will be fortunate to find a real friend who you can depend on being there for you at any time, one who does not question your abilities or decisions but accepts you as an equal. I feel blessed to have known Dickie and to have had him as my friend. Dickie impacted many in his life and I like many of you, will carry part of him with me forever.