Predeceased by her husband Mike Suzuki, she is survived by her three children, Roy, Eric and Joan; and five grandchildren, Tysia, Zainen, Ghendun, Maiya, and Tyan. Ruth was born Huang Li-Chuan on December 22, 1936 in Taipei, Taiwan.
From a young age, she greatly enjoyed singing in her local church choir, which ultimately ignited her passion for performance, culminating in a successful Opera career and life-long love affair with music. She was a trained Lyric Soprano, represented Taiwan at the International Madame Butterfly competition in Japan in 1967, and appearing as a performer on Taiwanese television.Later in 1967, Ruth and her family immigrated to Canada, landing in Vancouver, the city in which she would grow deep roots within its multi-cultural communities.
Upon arriving in Vancouver, she immediately auditioned for the Vancouver Opera Chorus and was accepted, leading to her garnering the role of “Liu” in the 1972 production of Turandot. This role would change her life. Over the next ten years, she performed in lead roles at all of the major opera houses in western Canada. She also performed and taught at the Banff School of Music, Courtney Music School, and Douglas College.
With her personal time, she and her husband created the Japanese Chorus Sakura Singers, which just reached their 50th anniversary last year. For her lifelong dedication and achievement in promoting traditional Japanese music, the Japanese Foreign Minister Commendations were presented to her, in 2000 and 2011. In addition to this, she was involved with two Taiwanese Choruses, Egret, and Vancouver Formosa Singers.
She will be remembered as a loving, generous, and kind mother, grandmother, conductor, teacher, and most of all, singer.
Funeral service will be held at 3:00pm, Saturday December 4th, 2021 at Christ Church Cathedral at the northeast corner of Burrard and Georgia Streets in Vancouver
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