It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Stanley Bing Wai Lam. He passed away peacefully at the age of 74 at Vancouver General Hospital on November 3rd, 2023. In his final days, he was comforted by the loving presence of his family. Stanley is survived by his wife Leanne; his 5 children Natalie (Kurt), Lori (Shane), Adria (Mike), Bianca (Jon) and Gilbert (Brendon); 9 grandchildren Aidan, Zachary, Carina, Justin, Vanessa, Ethan, Tessa, Nathan and Ryan; his siblings Barry (Lucy), Mayda (Ken), Maisie, Benny (Liza) and Mimi (Tony) and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Stanley was born on February 25,1949 in Sun Woi, Guangdong, China. He had an impoverished and difficult childhood, but was raised by his dearly loved grandfather, whom he spoke of fondly throughout his life. Upon his grandfather’s death, Stanley and his mother stopped in Hong Kong, finally arrived in Canada on January 15, 1960 and met his father for the first time in Flin Flon, Manitoba. Through dedication, hard work, and grit, he was able to graduate from the University of Manitoba in both Computer Science and Math. Wanting to escape frigid winters and to make a better life, his family made their way to Vancouver.
In Vancouver, he held several jobs including cook and postman while pursuing his career in main frame computers. He diligently worked up the rungs to managerial computer positions in government. One summer day, Stanley was in the car with his friend who was giving a lift to Leanne as well. Lovestruck, he pursued her tirelessly for 6 months before they were engaged and the rest is history. Stanley was a doting father of 5 children and loving husband of 48 years of marriage.
He had a passion for travel and always love to bring his family together through celebrations. Stanley and Leanne explored the world with their children and more recently throughout British Columbia with their grandchildren. Consistent throughout all of this was Stanley’s optimism, large friendly smile and knack for the unexpected. He was known to perfectly optimize airline standby routes to get the family to and from long weekends in Paris, Rome or Hong Kong. As his children grew up and pursued their own travels, he always offered a ride to the airport and welcomed them home in the same way. He often surprised his family with a last minute dim sum invitation, anyone and everyone welcome.
The family would like to thank all the staff at Vancouver General Hospital for their kindness and compassion. A celebration of Stanley Bing Wai’s life will take place on Friday, November 24, 2023 at Forest Lawn Memorial Chapel at 10am followed by interment at Forest Lawn Burial Park at 1130am.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestlawn-burnaby.com for the Lam family.
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