Jae Ling YiYi Sweeny-Lardner's Obituary
Our sweet Jae was born on November 15, 2001 in Yichun, China and completed our
family a year later in November 2002. She was a joyful child who adored her older
sister Sage and quickly demonstrated her ability to master any challenge. She
showed no fear in climbing tall structures as a toddler and doing back flips in the
pool at age 4. She became a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do at age 8. She went on to
earn a Black Belt Second Degree in Tae Kwon Do at age 11, the youngest in her
discipline to ever achieve that rank. In addition, she earned first and second degree
black belts in Goju-ryu. Jae holds multiple Karate World Championship Titles in
both disciplines as an individual and as a team with her sister Sage competing in the
adult division.
Jae was naturally good at everything - sports, math, science, reading, and art. She
beat her Godmothers at Monopoly when she was 6 and served as the banker of her
and Sage’s annual summer cupcake stand from age 4. She was gifted academically
and was a vociferous reader tackling the entire Harry Potter series twice. She loved
One Piece, a Japanese Manga series and read every released volume. After attending
Ludlum Elementary and South Miami Middle School’s Magnet Photography
Program, Jae’s artistic talent led to her acceptance to the prestigious New World
School of the Arts where she joined her sister. As a sophomore, she recently took
her SATs where she scored in the top 2%. Her art teacher Jennifer Gifford shared,
“Jae’s artwork consisting of drawings, paintings and photographs reveal her
insightful and poignant voice. She had developed an unusually mature
observational drawing skills and a keen, sensitive eye for quiet, contemplative
photographs that highlighted candid moments with individuals in cityscapes. In her
drawings she used bold, rich colors of reds, turquoise, yellows and pink , mixed with
illustrative dark charcoal lines to create complex, overlapped, dynamic imagery of
figures, anatomical references and even dragons. She was starting to develop and
was proud of her unique voice and identity that was beginning to emerge in her
recent work.”
Jae had a curious mind and a keen interest in Cosmology , the branch of physics and
astrophysics that deals with the study of the physical origins and the evolution of
the universe. One of the highlights of her past summer was going to hear
astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson in Asheville, NC and visiting the
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History where she met the
Head of Mineral Sciences and held rocks from Mars and the Moon.
Jae was spiritual. She was baptized as an infant and became a confirmed member of
Riviera Presbyterian Church as a teenager. We have fond memories of her playing
in the chancel area and lighting the liturgical candles.
Above all, Jae was a beautiful soul. She was kind, generous, and thoughtful. She was
private, disciplined and precise but was always up for a new adventure and
experience. We will sorely miss her smile, her colorful hair, and exact ways.
Jae is survived by her parents Cris Sweeny and Claire Lardner, her sister Sage, her
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, Godmothers, Godfathers, and her dogs Jeannie,
Abby, Toby, and Eagle.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Jae’s memory to the
following organization:
New World School of the Arts (NWSA)
NWSA is a Florida Center of Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts. NWSA
provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development
through a curriculum that reflects the rich, multicultural State of Florida. The school
empowers students to become state, national, and international leaders in the arts
by challenging them with innovative ideas as they prepare for professional careers
in a global community. These principles guide intensive and rigorous education for
talented high school and college arts students. A scholarship will be named in Jae’s
honor and benefit a classmate from the class of 2020 who continues their college
education at NWSA. Donations may be made online via
https://www.mdcfoundation.com/donation-pages/nwsa- donation. Checks may be
made payable to MDC Foundation/NWSA with the notation “Jae Sweeny-Lardner
Memorial Visual Arts Scholarship “ and mailed to:
New World School of the Arts
Maggie Cuesta/Visual Arts Department
25 NE 2 nd Street
Miami, FL 33132
What’s your fondest memory of Jae Ling?
What’s a lesson you learned from Jae Ling?
Share a story where Jae Ling's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Jae Ling you’ll never forget.
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