Jimmy Chi Wang Leong

Jimmy was born on April 10, 1930 in Canton, China. He immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1949 and worked to fund his own university education, graduating from the University of Alberta in 1961 with a degree in Civil Engineering. His determination was hard-earned and unwavering: he took the English exam ten times before passing and earning his degree.

He began his career in Victoria, British Columbia, before joining Environment Canada, where he spent 25 years designing infrastructure that protects some of the most vulnerable land in the Lower Mainland. In 1987, he received the Environmental Engineering Design Award for the Tsawwassen Flood Control Project. The city of Richmond has him to thank for not sinking into the Fraser River.

In 1968 Jimmy married Edna Yee. They settled into a house that he designed and drafted in the West Point Grey neighborhood of Vancouver, where they lived for the next 55 years. He and Edna raised two daughters, Stephanie and Virginia, and the family shared many road trips to national parks across North America, where his love of the outdoors became a lasting part of their childhoods.

In 1992, after retirement, Jimmy spent his time as a handyman who enjoyed tinkering with and fixing things. He had more tools than a hardware store. He was a dedicated apartment owner who maintained the building himself well into his 90s, with some tenants staying for decades. One of the enduring family images is of him dutifully collecting and counting the coins from the laundry machines.

Jimmy is best remembered for his kind-hearted and generous spirit. He was meticulous with everything he set his mind to, right down to chewing thirty times before swallowing. He had a deep, booming voice and loved to tell stories of his early years, sharing the hardships he had overcome so that his daughters would understand the values he grew up with. His mind remained sharp until the very end.

Jimmy is lovingly remembered by his wife Edna; his daughter Stephanie; his daughter Virginia and her husband, Tanming; his grandchildren Hannah and Lucas; as well as other family members and dear friends.

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