Our mother Sau Kum Wong (nee Kwan) was born on March 6th, 1929 to Mr. and Mrs. Yee Fan Kwan. Mr. Kwan was the owner of a drug store in Hoi Ping village in the city of Canton, China. Sau Kum was the oldest of seven children. She married Mun Hen (Tony) Wong in about 1948, and gave birth to two children, Yim Hing (Ivy) Lo (nee Wong), and Yu Fan (Ken) Wong. In about 1954, Mun Hen immigrated by himself to Victoria BC Canada to seek a better life for his family. Sau Kum and her two children eventually moved to Hong Kong in about 1957. In 1964, the Wong family was reunited as Sau Kum along with her two children immigrated to Victoria, which is also the birth city of Nellie and Raymond Wong.
Sau Kum was a very practical and loyal daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. Action spoke louder than words; it was her way of showing her love for you even though those words were never spoken. For over 25 years, Sau Kum would often visit her parents who had immigrated to Victoria in the mid 70’s. After Grandpa Kwan passed away, Sau Kum would visit our grandma (Po Po) every weekend and would often stop by the care home with Chinese food during the week. Sau Kum was a devout wife and mother who put her husband and children first. She was the voice of practicality and reason for Mun Hen, even though he was stubborn. When her daughter Ivy was about to marry her husband David, the only question Sau Kum had for her was, “Is he a good person?”. Sau Kum would often wake up early preparing breakfast and lunches, placing them out on the kitchen table before she left for work. Ivy and the other siblings fondly remember the chicken sandwiches that she prepared for the school lunches, often with the crusts removed. When Sau Kum returned from work, she would then prepare dinner.
Sau Kum enjoyed her garden, planting rows upon rows of green beans. When not tending to the garden or working, Sau Kum could always be found on the weekends in the local mahjong room in Chinatown. And before she went to play mahjong, she would often prepare breakfast for her children leaving it on the kitchen table. Sau Kum was very independent and preferred to walk to work or bus everywhere in Victoria. She was a pioneer of fitness even though she did not know it. Sau Kum was a dedicated employee of the Empress Hotel in Victoria BC, having worked over 35 years in the kitchen up until her retirement in 2005.
Sau Kum and her siblings were raised in poverty-like conditions. It was a struggle to find food and it often meant going hungry for days on end. Sau Kum never forgot that life lesson and would save every penny for that rainy day. In her later years, even though she had more than enough money in her bank account, it was hard for her to walk past a discarded aluminum can or bottle without picking it up knowing that it could be returned for money. Sau Kum would then take these winnings, often giving the loose changes to her grandchildren.
In 2004, Mun Hen was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. In 2007, Mun Hen’s dementia continued to worsen. Sau Kum and Mun Hen decided to move to Burnaby BC to be closer to their children for better family support. After 65 years of marriage, Mun Hen passed away on April 26th, 2012.
Sau Kum attended Burnaby Alliance Church with her son Ken and daughter-in-law Eva and enjoyed the fellowship of the ladies group. In 2014, Sau Kum moved into the Chau Luen Tower in Chinatown to enjoy an independent lifestyle. Sau Kum was in her glory, playing mahjong daily with her friends and shopping for cheap groceries. In September 2020, at the age of 91, Sau Kum’s own medical conditions forced her into the Fair Haven Homes Society in Vancouver, a place where she stayed until she passed away on December 8th, 2023.
Sau Kum is survived by her 4 children Ivy (David) Lo of Fort Saskatchewan Alberta, Ken (Eva) Wong of Burnaby BC, Nellie (Geoff) Hansen of Vancouver BC, and Raymond (Andi) Wong of Port Coquitlam B, 9 grand children Patricia (Tuan) Nguyen, Stephen (Allison) Lo, Kathleen Lo of Edmonton Alberta, Jasmine (Jeremy) Lau of Coquitlam BC, Jeffrey (Cindy) Wong of Burnaby BC, Matthew and Ethan Hansen of Vancouver BC, Joshua Wong of North Vancouver BC and Sydney Wong of Vancouver BC, and 6 great grand children Edward and Jade Nguyen of Edmonton Alberta, Samantha and Oliver Lau of Coquitlam BC, and Thomas and Lena Lo of Fort Saskatchewan Alberta.
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