Pham Chuong Ly

Born on September 23, 1933, Peter was the 2nd born, and the oldest son of eight siblings. Peter's family immigrated in his youth from China, to Saigon, Vietnam, where he grew up and married Duc Toan Huynh. In his early 30's, Peter was entrusted to help run the family's thriving ceramics manufacturing business, founded by his father, Van Tuong Ly. Sadly, the business was lost during the fall of Saigon in 1975, and Peter and his family were lucky to escape right before the Viet Cong captured their city.

Peter and his wife, along with their two young children, had to restart their lives by emigrating, en route through Taiwan, to Montreal, Quebec in the autumn of 1975. Through grit and hard work, they eventually saved enough to buy their own small neighborhood grocery store where they worked long hours with very little down time, and the whole family pitched in to make the grocery store a success. After 10+ years, they sold the grocery store in exchange for a gift shop and that afforded them a less hectic work schedule and more free time to spend with family and friends.

In 1993, Peter and his wife retired and moved to Sidney, BC for a warmer climate and to enjoy the next chapter of their lives. In the idyllic city of Sidney, he bought a small gift shop to while away the days while spending his free time doing what he loved most - tennis, gardening and catching the seafood treasures from the Strait of Georgia. These were his happiest times.

Peter is lovingly remembered by family and friends as one of the most generous, caring, genuine and resilient people. He will forever live in our hearts and souls.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Duc Toan; daughter Joyce, son Victor; grandchildren - Francis, Brendan, Adrian, Ethan, Charles, Keenan, and Melissa; brothers (and their spouse) - Pham Ang (and Ai Hong), Pham Cuong, Pin Tsung (and Madeleine); sisters (and their spouse) - Le Tran (and Khan Rong), Le Nguyen; sister-in-law Duc Pham Hang, as well as numerous relatives and friends.

He was predeceased by his parents Van Tuong Ly and Ky Phong Khon, sisters Le Minh and Le Kinh.

A funeral service will be held on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 10 AM at the Centre funéraire Cote-des-Neiges on 4525 Chemin de la Cote-des-Neiges, Montreal QC H3V 1E7.

A post-funeral lunch will follow at 2:00 PM at Restaurant Tong Por on 12242 Blvd. Laurentien, Montreal, Quebec H4K 1M9. Kindly RSVP via email to [email protected] on whether you plan to attend the funeral service only or both funeral service & lunch.

Peter had courageously lived with bipolar disorder for many years. We know that he would love nothing less than to help others who are suffering from the same challenges. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in his memory. In the link below, please click on the “Dedicate this donation” check box and enter “Pham Chuong Ly” for ‘Honouree name’. Thank you for your generosity.

https://cmha.donorsupport.co/page/donate?lan=english