Everyone who knew Gyumey Dorje seems to have a special story to share about him, their gratitude and respect for the man evident in each tale.

Gyumey, a Khampa Tibetan and a township chief in Dawu county in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze, Sichuan province, was 33 when he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in May 2012.

In Lungden township of Dawu, where Gyumey was the township chief, Pontod and his wife still recall how Gyumey honored his promise of helping them move to a new home.