You Will Always Be Remembered ❤️🙏🏼

Miss you,
Vicky

Your gentle touch, warm embrace and soothing voice will live in our hearts forever.  Thank you for all the beautiful memories.  With all our love. 

TO SWANA FROM ALL OF US
 

 
To Where You Are
By Josh Groban




Who can say for certain
Maybe you're still here
I feel you all around me
Your memories so clear
Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be that you are my forever love
And you are watching over me from up above.
Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight to see you smile
If only for a while to know you're there
A breath away's not far to where you are.


給妹妹的一段話


可能人的天性就是要趨吉避凶。相信許多人都沒有一個念頭就是有一天家人會離開世界。縱使有這個念頭亦有可能會盡量避免去想.但是人生無常，有一天我們任何一個都會離開世界， 而且從來就沒有任何的定律或規範説誰先離開誰在後。畢竟生命就不在人的掌控之中。離開是不捨。不過你在我們的心中永遠活著。永遠是一個美麗溫柔懂得安慰人的姊妹。在我們姊妹之間固執各持己見爭論的時候你總是做一個中間調停人。你是個懂得使父母歡喜快樂的女兒。當然乜不是百分之一百不用擔心的女兒，不竟你也是一個人嘛。你在眾多姪仔姪女姨娚的心中更是一個慷慨有愛心的姑姐、亞姨。你的愛就穿插在我們的生活當中。在回看你的照片和錄像時見到你美麗又溫柔的笑臉， 就好像你沒有離開過一樣。你的笑容將會永存在我們的心中 感謝神在我們生命中賜與我們一個美好的回憶。多年之前你和我在電話中傾談，你表示願意決志接受基督的救恩你背誦了決志的禱告。如今你一定在天家有份。我們只要做好自已在世上的本份將來一定會在天家與你再聚。現在暫時的別離心裡固然難過但也存感恩的心因為我們有美好的盼望知道會再聚。你永遠永遠住在我們的心中。


大家姐慧賢

Kind hearted, thoughtful and selfless are the
first words that come to mind when I think of
Aunty Swana. Always ready with words of
advice that hit the mark but conveyed in a
gentle and caring way.
When she came over to Australia for a visit, the
whole family went out to a buffet restaurant for
dinner. I still remember her advice "remember,
don't over do it. Don't over eat..." as an Asian kid
at a buffet I was quite confused at the time. We
did end up over doing it and started with
desserts as entrees... however she didn't tell us
off but just laughed.. as a kid I thought Aunty
Swana was so cool!
I remember her infectious laugh when Jess,
Anna and I stayed over at Swan and Andes
place. No matter how busy she was, she always
had time for us... never got sick of us ordering
honey battered prawns at the same restaurant
every second day.
Thank you Aunty Swana. I miss you very much
and I am sure we will meet again. Thank you for
being a wonderful, kind and generous aunty.

Love from your nephew,
Lambert

Aunty Swana - growing up in Hong Kong, I still vividly remember the way she used to curl up next to Ah Mar (Grandma) to nap on the sofa. When she napped she had a smile on her face and I remember as a young girl, trying to copy her and leaning on Ah Mar as well on the other side. 

The name Swana was so fitting for 三姑姐 - like a swan, she was elegant, graceful, gentle, easygoing. However swans are also hugely protective of their nests. When it came to her family, Aunty Swana was highly protective of hers. I remember when Ah Mar was sick, Aunty Swana just landed and we were in hospital siting around Ah Mar. Despite having just arrived, she insisted to take care of Ah Mar and just being there, attending to her needs. 

Aunty Swana wasn’t a lady with many words but when she speaks, she oozed wisdom. It was a wisdom that drew from life’s ups and downs. Her Chinese paintings inspired me and propelled me to learn myself. I remember reluctantly one day, after a few lessons, I sent Aunty Swana a picture of my bamboo painting. I’’m sure she had a smile on her face as she saw my bamboos as it looked like primary art compared to hers… but yet she was so encouraging, and asked me to keep at it. 

I really wish I had more time with you 三姑姐. Although I know that in eternity, I will see you and hopefully by then I have more art to show you. You are so dearly missed - thank you from my heart for inspiring me in more ways than you know. 

Love Kat 珮

I have had many great experiences and catch-ups with Aunty Swana whenever I visited Hong Kong for holidays and while I was working there for the first time.  
 
I remember the time when she was working on the derivatives trading floor. I was in my late teens. She took me inside the buzzing trading floor (which at the time trading was still done with people yelling out numbers and things I didn’t understand and passing out pieces of paper to each other). I remember her standing up on a podium like a boss, wearing a headset and handing out tickets to her traders, giving directions. I was in awe. Not only by the atmosphere of the place but by this another side of my Aunty who I only knew as the gentle, elegant soul with a soothing voice, great hair and dresses well, giving out firm, clear directions to her guys on the trading floor. She was the ultimate boss lady and from that day on, I wanted to be just like her. That was probably why I ended up in Finance because I saw what she could do and she did it with poise and elegance.
 
Aunty Swana and I would catch up every few weeks while I worked in Hong Kong for the first time. She always knew where to go for food. She would take me to fancy restaurants for Shanghainese food or have pasta somewhere but our favourite catch-up joint was Cova at Pacific Place where we would have their buffet and talk for hours. Then we would go shopping. I loved our conversations. We had so much fun together and anytime she sensed I needed guidance she would be that voice that helped guide me along.
 
When I went to Hong Kong for work for the second time, I was hoping we could catch up like that again but she had already moved back to Canada. Instead, we would message about kids and share photos of our dogs.
 
I miss you 三姑姐!  I miss your kindness, your gentleness, your wisdom and your strength. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you and miss you so so much.
 
With love,
Karen xxoo

How do you condense a life so well-lived into a few short paragraphs? It feels like an impossible task. There is nothing I can say which hasn't already been said about Aunty Swana - kind, thoughtful, wise, understanding, generous with her time, so talented in professional life as well as artistic talents. She was all those things and so much more. 

I have too many fond memories of Swana, and having been lucky enough to live in the same city as her for a number of years, I'll always remember the times I was able to spend afternoons with her, talking, laughing, just having someone who seemed to understand me and seemed to want to get to know me as a person. Although my memories of time together will always be more precious than any material thing, even now, as I look around my house (which Swana had never visited), I'm reminded of her generosity in all things - the appliance she bought Martin and I as a housewarming gift 7 years ago, a pair of beautiful leather boots she bought me 15 years ago when she visited Australia. I have kept those boots for years and years, despite being worn down and having to be repaired repeatedly, because they have always reminded me of Swana and her care and love for her nieces and nephews, not out of obligation, but truly out of genuine affection. I don't think I can ever bear to part with them. 
 
It is so telling that for me, just like each one of my cousins, my memories of Swana are overwhelmingly characterised by the way she made me feel heard and seen - as a person rather than just another kid. She really was a living example of treating every one as a person, and it speaks to her generosity of time and spirit. It is something which left such a mark on me and I will carry that - and her - with me for the rest of my life. She is one of the best people I know and every day I hope to be more like her in everything that I do. I miss her very much, but know I will see her again some day in another life xoxo Love you forever, Mel

Some of my fondest memories of Aunty Swana/三姨媽 was of when Mel and I would go  visit her in Discovery Bay during our teens when we lived in Hong Kong. Even though I was highly allergic to her cats at the time, I relished any opportunity for visits. She was always very patient with us and generous, treating us to delicious meals or sweets. 

Aunty Swana always treated me as an equal adult, never speaking to me like a child (though I’m sure she always thought of me as a little girl!). She was such a kind soul, thoughtful, yet objective and logical. Even the last conversation we had on WhatsApp only a few weeks ago, which now feels like a lifetime ago, she was asking how I was doing and about my life in the US, a testament to how caring she was. I loved being able to chat with her about her life in Vancouver, sharing my dog’s antics with her and hearing about Maizey. I also really admired her creative talents and passion as a painter. She was so talented and always perked up when we talked about painting. 

There are not enough words for me to describe how much admiration and love I have for my Aunty Swana. The world is a little less bright without her in it. 

三姨媽, I wish I had one more conversation with you, one more day to spend with you. I miss your contagious laugh. I will always cherish the time I got to spend with you. You will forever be in my heart. 

Your niece, 
Jo

(Continued ) 

“Artist-types are gentle caretakers who live in the present moment and enjoy their surroundings with cheerful, low-key enthusiasm. They are flexible and spontaneous, and like to go with the flow to enjoy what life has to offer. They are quiet and unassuming, and may be hard to get to know. However, to those who know them well, they are warm and friendly, eager to share in life’s many experiences. They have a strong aesthetic sense and seek out beauty in their surroundings. They often have a natural talent for arts and may wield creative tools with great mastery. They may initially appear distant or aloof, but if you watch closely, you can observe their caring in the thoughtful things they do for others. They are carefully observant of the practical needs of other people, and often step in with quiet, unassuming assistance at just the moment it is needed.”  Looking back though our messages over the years I noticed I would invariably write ‘I miss you!’

Jessi 

From your niece Jessi

Swana always had time for us, even when we were young. Because we lived so far away from one another we only saw her rarely, but when she’d come to Australia to visit she would often sit with the kids, chat to us and get to know us. She never told us off for ‘mucking around’ or tried to stop us when we decided to eat nothing but chocolate mousse from the restaurant buffet for dinner. In my mind she was always an ‘ally’ rather than ‘an adult’.  We really got to know Swana properly during our stay in Hong Kong. From this moment on I thought of her as being not only an aunty and an ally, but also a friend.  In the years since we kept in touch from a distance, sending photos and chatting about everything from her beloved cats (and more recently, her ‘little girl’, Maizie the dog), to her painting (which was exquisite and everyone admired, but that she was characteristically modest about).  Most recently we talked about ‘personality types’, we even did a fun personality test which revealed that Swana’s personality was one often entitled ‘The Artist’, and known to be the most creative of all the types. When I read the description, nothing rang more true. (To be continued)

(Continued)

Now, while I loved and appreciated the jacket and gesture - what I love most about this memory is just how reflective it is of who Swana was. 100% generous, kind, humble, understated, giving and thoughtful. She would never brag, boast, was selfless and had a heart of gold. She really just wanted those around her to be content and would fit in with the flow to make things work and those around her happy. I will never forgot those special  times spent in Hong Kong together. I always expected I would be able to see her again and thank her for her generosity and for being so present with us. I thought that we would have the chance to relive those times together and maybe share new ones. Thank you Aunty Swana for taking time out to be with us and for being such a kind, wise and lovely aunty - I love you, Anna 

To Auntie Swana



Aunty Swana would give you the jacket off her own back. Literally. Swana was quiet, thoughtful, and just understood everything. You could talk to her about anything and she would just ‘get it’. When we visited Swana and Andes in Hong Kong over 20 years ago, not only did Swana take the time to hang out with us - show us all the fun sights, take us to our favourite restaurant and let us order the ‘gweilo food’ every time with no complaints or ever asking us to order what she wanted, let us do her makeup, go shopping with us and pick us up our favourite sweets on the way back from the ferry every night after work, she was also vey generous with everything - including her wardrobe. She let me borrow an array of warmer clothes when it started to get chilly and generously let me go through everything she owned. While looking through her wardrobe, I remember spotting a beautiful DKNY leather jacket which was of course elegant and expensive, just like Swana. Kindly, she let me borrow the jacket during the trip, and I felt very special and fancy and grown up to be able to wear something so nice that I would never be able to afford or wear ordinarily on our day outings. Amazingly, Swana and Andes put up w with the three of us - me, Lambert and Jess, a gang of 18/19 year old layabouts - in their pristine apartment - for over a month! Swana never once lost her temper, was patient and would love to sit around the table after dinner talking with us and laughing and telling us her predictions of how our lives would turn out and just really spending quality time together. Finally, as the trip was nearing an end we were packing to go, having quietly observed how special the jacket made me feel, in true Swana style - she incredibly kindly and quietly - just gave it to me. No fuss or fanfare, just her gentle quiet, generous way letting me have something of hers that I really didn’t deserve. (To be continued)

I have a picture of us in our twenties, on the banks of the Huron River, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We were just starting our journey. Life was fresh and hopeful. I’ll remember you that way always. 


天意憐幽草， 人間重晚晴


“Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, 
Of glory in the flower; 
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.”

姐夫
Vitus Tang 

Like a swan on a glass like lake, the mirror reflects your image, but your soul reflects your beauty. In every glance, every tear, every smile, your true nature shines through all these years. You are vividly remembered as the beloved sister-in-law, the loving aunty to Jo & Mel, the caring sister to Anna. You have been so loving and gracious to us all and will forever be remembered as so. Like a gracious swan, you have left us suddenly. When Anna got the call, I was with her and Peter waiting for the arrival of Joshua in Melbourne. It was such a shock that no tear or hug can overcome. Now you are gliding into eternity, we will miss you so dearly, but we are happy for you as there is no pain nor tear, just gracefully gliding through the lake and shine to the rest in eternity, like you always have been.

Andrew, your brother-in-law

To my dearest 三家姐,

No words can express how I felt after hearing words of your passing. It was no unreal, so surreal. As we did every night, I was only talking with you on Whatsapp a few hours ago….. it was so not true. My heart felt slashed and injured, and my stomach felt that it’s been kicked. I still feel the pain now as I write.

You were always so dear to me, always there to offer me a shoulder during ups and downs, always could analyse anything much better than I did, always able to remain cool, calm and collected during crises, always knew when to say the right things at the right time, always enlightened me with your artistic notions and inspirations. You were the one who introduced me to such names as Charlie McKinsey, Endre Penovac, Jean Haines and of course your respected Chinese painting teacher Mr Hung Hoi. Your love for my children Jo and Mel and granddaughter Ellie (though it’s a real shame that you have never met each other in person), your kindness to animals and the elderlies ….. you are in my heart always!

Knowing that you are in a better place with no pain, sorrow and tears comforts me and ensures me that we will meet again, my dear sister, no matter where you are. You have never left me but I still do miss you sorely!

Love,
Hing

My dear sister Swana,


You are always my dear sweet sister with your smiles and gentleness. I have fond memories with you, dated back to the time when Anna and I first came to study in Canada, the way you looked after us, helping us settled down and seek every way to make us adjust to the new environment. Your love for the family is felt and evident. My photo collection reminds me the many occasions that you came to spent time with us in Australia, giving us individual gifts and fun times. I have vivid memory of one occasion when I visited you in Discovery Bay. That was a rare incident that I could spent the whole day with you, enjoying sumptuous lunch at the nearby hotel, meeting your cute cats at your apartment, nice walk down the beach and I specifically took a nice portrait of you that I preciously keep to this very day. Even though we very much miss you, I know that you are always in my mind and I have confidence that one day I will meet you again with joy in heaven.


Alfred

Swana, 亞芝, my sweet and talented sister,

She left us so suddenly. It is a shock to the whole family. Her family name actually is 潔珠. The direct translation is “pure pearl.” She didn’t like the second character of her first name. The Chinese pronunciation is the same as “pig”, she said. But she didn’t know that I always like the name “pure pearl,” so perfect, so beautiful. I live in San Francisco. For the convenience of living in the cities of same time zone, we chatted a lot. It didn’t matter what the topics were, Chinese snacks, cakes, chocolate, cats, dogs, whatever. It was the connection and feeling that I knew I was not all by myself in a foreign country. How I wish that we could live closer to each other and share more things other than just virtual chats. I lost a person I can talk to but you are always on my mind and heart, 

Your Sister, 
Stella

給妹妹的一段話

可能人的天性就是要趨吉避凶。相信許多人都沒有一個念頭就是有一天家人會離開世界。縱使有這個念頭亦有可能會盡量避免去想.但是人生無常，有一天我們任何一個都會離開世界， 而且從來就沒有任何的定律或規範説誰先離開誰在後。畢竟生命就不在人的掌控之中。離開是不捨。不過你在我們的心中永遠活著。永遠是一個美麗溫柔懂得安慰人的姊妹。在我們姊妹之間固執各持己見爭論的時候你總是做一個中間調停人。你是個懂得使父母歡喜快樂的女兒。當然乜不是百分之一百不用擔心的女兒，不竟你也是一個人嘛。你在眾多姪仔姪女姨娚的心中更是一個慷慨有愛心的姑姐、亞姨。你的愛就穿插在我們的生活當中。在回看你的照片和錄像時見到你美麗又溫柔的笑臉， 就好像你沒有離開過一樣。你的笑容將會永存在我們的心中 感謝神在我們生命中賜與我們一個美好的回憶。多年之前你和我在電話中傾談，你表示願意決志接受基督的救恩你背誦了決志的禱告。如今你一定在天家有份。我們只要做好自已在世上的本份將來一定會在天家與你再聚。現在暫時的別離心裡固然難過但也存感恩的心因為我們有美好的盼望知道會再聚。你永遠永遠住在我們的心中。

大家姐慧賢

唐李商隱的《錦瑟》

錦瑟無端五十弦，一弦一柱思華年。
莊生曉夢迷蝴蝶，望帝春心托杜鵑。
滄海月明珠有淚，藍田日暖玉生煙。
此情可待成追憶，只是當時已惘然。

卿

Our beautiful, vibrant and beloved sister!

Wendy 
Stella 
Anna 

慈愛的天父、偉大的造物主，你是生命的主宰。今天，我們特別為已去世的李潔芝Swana祈禱。她在世時，得到你的照顧，完成了生命的歷程。你聖子耶穌的死亡和復活，為人類帶來永生的希望和永恆的福樂。現在，求你讓亡者李潔芝Swana安息在你懷中。求你使我們明白，人生在世若能愛主 ，死亡對於他就是永生的開始。亞孟。

Swana, 亞芝, my sweet and talented sister,
She left us so sudden. It is a shock to the whole family. Her family name actually is 潔珠. The direct translation is “pure pearl.” She didn’t like the second character of her first name. The Chinese pronunciation is the same as “pig”, she said. But she didn’t know that I always like the name “pure pearl,” so perfect, so beautiful. I live in San Francisco. For the convenience of living in the cities of same time zone, we chatted a lot. It didn’t matter what the topics were, Chinese snacks, cakes, chocolate, cats, dogs, whatever. It was the connection and feeling that I knew I was not all by myself in a foreign country. How I wish that we could live closer to each other and share more things other than just virtual chats. I lost a person I can talk to but you are always on my mind and heart, 

Your Sister, Stella

Will never forget the wonderful time we were on the floor. In our lane with DBS, OSK and Wardly. So much happy memories.  RIP. 

Aunty Swana, you were the coolest aunt a nephew could ever hope to have. You always found a way to make me laugh and feel at ease. Though I only got to spend small pockets of time with you growing up, I count myself fortunate to have spent those moments with you. I will miss you very much. Love, Ben 🙏 ❤️ 🕯

My condolences for the loveliest lady and a good friend of mine. You have a remarkable place in my heart and also others’ life. 
You will be missed. May god give her eternal rest. 

In loving memory
Vicky

OBITUARY

Swana Lin 李潔芝

25 May, 1954 – 13 May, 2022

Ocean View Funeral Home & Burial Park

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