Eddy, eldest of her five children soon arrived while dad was away in Burma. Dad returned a few years later and two more children (Roland and Martina) were born before they fled to Hong Kong again until the final move to Canada. The two youngest siblings (Ada and Paul) were born in Hong Kong.  Mom had fond memories of the village Kee O where she grew up.  She often talked about digging sweet potatoes in the fields, combating sea waves in the ocean harvesting fresh oysters and the century-old home of the family. In her advanced years, our conversations often revolved around the village and the family home.

In addition to the five children of her own, she often looked after our dad’s mother and our cousins.  At the time Hong Kong was seen as more desirable with more opportunities than mainland China. Thus mom and dad were entrusted with cousins to give them a better future.  It was normal for her to have a household of nine kids plus our elderly grandma.  Every day, she would plan, shop and feed the family all within a limited budget.   She often talked about how heavy groceries were and how busy the household was.  None of these stopped her from being involved in small ventures to provide more for her family.  She ran a little coffee shop, sewed and picked up different odd jobs to make ends meet.  We also moved around quite a bit in order to accommodate the growing family.

Eddy had the opportunity to immigrate to Canada in 1967, followed by Roland and Martina. Then in 1973, the entire family was reunited when Mom and Dad with the youngest two siblings joined. With the family together Dad retired as a school teacher and began to teach painting in Toronto.  Mom helped out at Eddy’s restaurant The House of Chung and despite not knowing English, she was able to easily navigate the city. She regularly made the trip from Toronto to Eddy’s restaurant in Bolton or from Toronto to Barrie to visit her brother!

Mom was a hard-working, strong, independent, determined, resourceful and vocal woman. She was the CEO of the household, a dedicated care-giver. Not only did she bring up her own five children but had a strong hand in bringing up many of her fourteen grandchildren. One could always rely on Mom for a good meal and baby-sitting. She was frugal to herself but forever generous with family and friends. Mom never minced words, you would always know her thoughts whether you wanted to or not. She prided herself on being self-sufficient, often refusing assistance even when it was necessary. Many a time we heard of health workers being turned away by Mom.

After dad passed suddenly in 1989, mom moved to a senior citizen apartment in the Broadview area of Toronto. She lived there independently until she started to become forgetful and had several falls requiring surgery and hospitalizations. In 2017 she moved to Yee Hong for her health and safety. Though she resisted in the beginning once she was there she settled in well. Even though she would talk about going back to the old village, she would immediately follow-up by saying how well she’s been looked after at Yee Hong. She often says people would make snacks for her and offer her treats. Too much for her small appetite she would add!

While she improved physically during her stay at Yee Hong, her dementia continued to deteriorate. She would complain that she had no visitors even though the family took turns to visit her weekly. Due to the pandemic just like many others we were not able to visit our loved ones for a number of months.  Starting in June we were allowed outdoor visits within guidelines. She was happy to see us again.

On Oct 6, 2020, we were informed by Yee Hong that she had a slight fever and a little cough.  She was tested for Covid-19.  On Oct 9, 2020, she was confirmed to be positive and isolated.  She responded well to the treatment and very quickly her fever and cough were under control.  Even though she was frail, we were hopeful she would recover.  Sadly, her age worked against her as the virus attacked her kidneys and she very quickly went into multiple-organ failure. She left us peacefully on Oct 23, 2020.  We are all very relieved she didn’t have to suffer long or go through any invasive interventions the doctor said would have been futile.

She will be fondly remembered by her family of five children, fourteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Eddy and Kim, (Keon {Jagur and Jaydlyn}, Clark, Wahly {Ella and Ivy}, Jessica and Hong).  Roland and Melina (Brian, Civiane/Li {Victor and Elena}), Martina and Chi (Arden/Beth, Nellie/Raphael), Ada and Rex (Danica/Benny {Koen and Preston}, Irwin/Sherry, Vincent/Karine), Paul and Sue (Jonathan and Christopher). Mom had a full long life. She is now reunited with dad. We are grateful to have been able to have her for this long and her memories will live on forever. May she rest in peace, we love you and miss you.