Jean Lai Gee Shuen (née Joe)

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.

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Surrounded by her loving family, Jean passed away peacefully to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 19th.

She will be greatly missed by her husband Ken, her children Bonnie (Jim), Duncan (Francine), Patrick, and her grandchildren Louis, Jules, Robin, Karina, Christopher and Lily. Jean was predeceased by her son Jason, father Joe Gon Fun, mother Joe Low Yew, brother Kwok Tung Jow, sisters Wai Man Tung and Lily Chu, and is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Jean was born in Nam Chun, a small farming village near Guangzhou, China. As a small child, she survived the Japanese occupation and the Second World War. She and her family endured many hardships during this time but managed to stay together. These difficult times helped shape her strength of character and life-long devotion to family. While immigrating to Canada in 1950 with her family, she met her husband, Ken. They both settled in Vancouver and married in 1959.

In addition to working and raising a family, Jean’s greatest fulfillment in life was giving her time and energy to help others. She was a devoted member of the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Vancouver where she enjoyed singing in the choir, attending bible study, and serving in the Women's Missionary Society. Having survived her first bout of cancer in 2005, Jean volunteered many hours helping patients and their families at the BC Cancer Agency. Through these and other acts of service, she displayed fortitude, abundant energy, selflessness, and a caring nature which we will always cherish and remember.

We are eternally grateful to Dr. Janessa Laskin and the medical team at the BC Cancer Agency for their gentle and compassionate care of Jean until her final days. We also thank Jean’s extended family, friends, and her spiritual family at the Chinese Presbyterian Church for their loving support and prayers.

A funeral service and reception will be held at Ocean View Funeral Home, 4000 Imperial Street, Burnaby, BC on Friday, April 1st at 10 AM, with live streaming available.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Jean Shuen to the BC Cancer Foundation at bccancerfoundation.com.