To the family of Jean,
    Jean was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother.
Thankful for her devotion ,  a Christian, a blessing to her church family, a joyous choir member.

It was a privilege to know her, to be her friend for decades.

Remembering her fondly,

Susie (Yuen Mar)



Eulogy for Mom — 

Thank you all for gathering with us today to mourn the passing of our mother, Jean Shuen, as well as to celebrate her long and amazing life of 85 years.  I am Bonnie, her daughter, and next to me are my brothers, Duncan and Patrick.  We would like to present a eulogy for our mother, Jean.

Jean was born near Guangzhou, China, the youngest of four children, which included one brother and two sisters.  Although her father ran an import/export business based in Vancouver, the remainder of the family resided in China.  Jean and her family endured difficult times during the Japanese occupation of China followed by the Second World War.  The family was forced to flee the terror bombings of Guangzhou in 1938, the bombing of Hong Kong in 1941, and the Japanese invasion of their village in 1944.  At times they had no money or food, and at times they had to seek refuge to save themselves from brutal treatment by soldiers and local bandits.  Although they witnessed the breakup and separation of other families due to the tragic circumstances of war, they were fortunate enough to stay together as a family.  In 1950, when Jean was around 13, she and her family emigrated to Canada to join her father.  As the story goes, Jean met her future husband, Ken, on the same ship, as he was assigned to the same cabin as her mom.

Jean graduated from Britannia High School in Vancouver then started working.  She worked as a teller at the Bank of Montreal.  After she married Ken in 1959, they both settled in North Vancouver.  For a while Jean helped Ken manage his grocery business at the IGA supermarket formerly located on Marine Drive near Capilano Mall in North Vancouver.  After Ken sold his business, Jean found employment at the Super Valu in Edgemont Village in North Vancouver, becoming its bookkeeper and longest-serving employee for over 30 years, from 1975 to 2007.

During the 1960s, while she was looking for a Chinese language school for Duncan and me, Jean found the Chinese Presbyterian Church, formerly located in Chinatown, Vancouver.  Our mom carpooled with good friends Bob and Lily Lee who, at that time, lived near us in North Vancouver, to take their kids and us there.  Our family continued attending CPC, even after the Lees moved away to Vancouver.  At first, our mom and we three kids attended, while our dad, Ken, joined the church later and eventually became an elder following the death of our youngest brother, Jason, who died on Easter Sunday, 1973.

The characteristics that best describe Jean—a person with fortitude, abundant energy, selflessness, and a caring nature—arose in part, from the difficult times her family experienced in China; in part, from the strong family values that her mother passed onto her; and in part from her faith and service with the Church.  The values that our mother espoused include an immense gratitude for and appreciation of family and friends, the importance of persevering and doing one’s best, the importance of caring for one another and being available to assist during times of trouble, and the importance of giving family and children the best opportunities one can afford in life.  These are values that we, her children, have tried to follow and pass onto our children, and hopefully, they in turn will pass onto their children.

We have fond memories of and will always be grateful for our mom’s efforts to maintain strong relationships with all whom she loved and to show that love in her acts of kindness to them.  We have fond memories of and gratitude for the dinners that she hosted for family and friends; visits with family—for instance, she used to take us to visit her parents and siblings and their families on Sundays following church; family vacations, which she sometimes organized with our friends so that we could all vacation together; countless cooked breakfasts; packed lunches even after we finished university; home-cooked meal deliveries even after we got married; gifts of clothing to help us get promoted at work; birthday cakes, Christmas and birthday gifts and cards; and many more loving acts of kindness, too numerous to list.

We also have fond memories of and immense gratitude for her tireless work with the Women’s Missionary Society, the Chinese choir, bible study, Sunday School, Sunday services, and other activities at church, as well as personally assisting or providing emotional support to several church members in their times of greatest need.  With regard to her volunteer work at the BC Cancer Agency, we share some of what Sandy Kwong, a social worker there, wrote on mom’s obituary page:  “Jean was an active volunteer for the Chinese Support Group and was Peer Navigator at BC Cancer, Vancouver, for many years.  She smiled warmly and greeted every patient entering our building and offered new patients conversational support.  Her kindness made our patients’ visits be filled with love and reduced their fear.  Her experience and wisdom gave our patients strength and hope in coping with their cancer.”   During and following her first bout of cancer in 2005, our mother spent much time in BC Cancer support groups herself, but in time, she was able to help other patients navigate their own cancer journeys with courage and hope.

Thanks to the excellent care she received at BC Cancer, our mother was able to live cancer-free until November 2019 when she found out that her cancer had returned.  Although her prognosis was not good, she was determined not to waste her time by being depressed about it, but to live life to the fullest each day and to continue showering us with her care and love. She continued being the person we described earlier, even though her cancer treatments made her tired, slower, and sometimes, unable to do everything that she normally did.  In our last conversations with her, she told us that she was not afraid to die, and that she was grateful for the life that God had given her.  She felt blessed, and so did we.

In his letter to the Philippian church, the apostle Paul writes “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.”  These are the words that inspired our mom as we can see them evident in her countless acts of service to others.  Continuing in his letter, Paul writes “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  These are the words our mom fully embraced, especially during difficult times.  In his final letter to his protégé, Timothy, Paul writes “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”  We know that our mom, having “fought the good fight,” having “kept the faith” and having “finished the race,” is receiving her well-deserved “crown of righteousness” in heaven.

Our mother’s faith in God and her determination to focus on the positive allowed her to find joy in life and persevere to the end.  Let us all give thanks to Jean, a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, colleague, companion, and disciple of God, who excelled in all of her roles, and is an inspiration to us all through what she has endured in life, what she has accomplished, and what she has selflessly and lovingly given to us.  We love her and will miss her greatly.  Thank you all for being with us today to show how much you care for Jean.

Jee Wan and I from the Chinese CPC Victoria share and extend our sadness with Ken and family on the passing to glory of Jean. We know Jean as a person who fully and worshipfully sang to extol her loving Saviour Jesus Christ and her God with the choir at the Vancouver CPC.  

Being fully convinced that Jean continues her earthly passion to sing; that from this time forth in all eternity; to sing in her complete fullness and unmeasured joy and love; now offered face-to-face to her redeeming Saviour and Lord sitteth at His throne, 
Jee Wan and I would wish stand with you, Ken and your family at this time of your earthly grief; with the hope in God our heavenly Father and in comfort of the Holy Spirit. 

May you, Ken and your beloved ones encourage one another by 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 

Peace of and hope in the Risen Christ
Jee Wan and Vincent Tan



Jean was a magnificent example of kindness, generosity, gentleness and grace.   We will always have fond remembrances of her, and how she served faithfully in the church community.  How blessed we were to have grown up knowing her.  Even when we started our own family and moved away to Washington, each time we returned to visit our old home church, there she’d be with her radiant smile, singing her heart out in the choir and then greeting us warmly afterwards.  We are grateful to Jean also for her long-time friendship with my mom, Loretta – if there are tea parties in heaven, those two ladies would certainly be laughing and sharing joyful moments together. 

Ken, may God’s presence help absorb your grief and replace it with peace and comfort and the joy of having shared a lifetime with such a remarkable and beautiful person.  Bonnie, Duncan and Patrick, may God uplift and strengthen you and your families, and may your sorrow soon be softened with a treasure trove of fond memories.    ...  

"He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!"


Jean is not just another sister in Christ to me, she is also a very dear and loyal friend.  She is very supportive of all church ministries. Although she has cancer, she still would attend as much of the church ministries as she can.  Even during the Pandemic, Jean would attend the English Sunday Service and then would rush to join the Chinese Adult Sunday School.  After that, she would attend the Chinese Sunday Service.  She also attends the Wednesday night Chinese Fellowship "Circle of Joy" and was even one of the cell group leaders.  She also attends the Thursday afternoon Chinese Prayer and Bible Study Group.  This shows how much she loves God and wants to be part of every ministry to support the church, which she also loves.  I am so proud of sister Jean that she followed the bible's teaching to the very end of her life.  Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."  Jean, rest in peace as you are suffering no more, and are now being embraced joyfully and comfortably in the Lord's arms.  Amen!

Dear Ken,
We are saddened to hear of Jean’s passing but are grateful that she is no longer suffering and is in eternal peace in the arms of Jesus.

We have fond memories of Jean. Jean was always kind, genuine and gentle in nature. She definitely had the heart of a servant; always there in whatever capacity was required  whether it was  teaching, singing in the choir or hosting the youth in their home (we always looked forward to her potato chip casserole!!) Jean also had an infectious laugh that echoed throughout!
Our prayers go out to you, Bonnie, Duncan, Patrick and their respective families. Heaven has most certainly received a very special angel. 

Dear Ken ,Bonnie, Duncan ,Patrick and all the  family.  I will always remember Jean as a faithful devoted member of the church, a person who loves God and a follower of Jesus Christ.  She always displayed a gentleness to all around her.

Our family will keep her and your family in our thoughts and  prayers. 

Jean had strong faith in God.  She often told me God is in control when she was battling cancer.  I admired her faith and learned to be strong like her.  We were high school classmates. Jean was the glue  that kept us (Jean, Christina and me) together.  She is in a better place now.  I miss her dearly.

Jean是一位非常活躍的義工。她在BC Cancer 卑詩癌症局（温哥華）的華語互助小組及導航員服務多年。Jean 帶著慈愛的笑容接待每一位進入癌症局大樓的病人，跟他們友善的交談和護送他們到診所見醫生；她的熱誠讓病人感覺放鬆，減輕到癌症局的恐懼。Jean 在華語互助小組中分享她面對癌症的歷程及活躍生活的態度；她的經驗和智慧為很多病人帶來力量和希望。
Jean 更經常就癌症華話支援服務的發展和策劃提出意見。她不單關心病人，她更關顧其他義工和醫護人員。
Jean - 我和華語互助小組成員感謝你對我們的服務、慈愛和關懷。我們懷念你、銘記著你。


Jean had been an active volunteer for the Chinese Support Group and Peer Navigator at BC Cancer Vancouver for many years. She smiled warmly and greeted every patients entering our building. She  offered new patients with conversation support while escorted them to the clinic. Her kindness made our patients' visits be filled with love and reduced fear. In the Chinese Support Group, Jean was open sharing her cancer journey and her approach in active living. Her experience and wisdom gave our patients with strength and hope in coping with their cancer. 
In addition, Jean often contributed her ideas in the development and implementation of support programs for our Chinese-speaking patients. She showed concerns to other volunteers and clinical staff that gave us strength to continue our work.
The Chinese Support Group members and I treasure everything you did for us, your smile and your kindness. Thank you Jean. We miss you. We remember you.  

OBITUARY

Jean Lai Gee Shuen (née Joe)

December 28, 1936 – March 19, 2022

Ocean View Funeral Home & Burial Park

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