Mr. Seah was born on December 11, 1937 together with his twin Hark Boon Seah in Geylang, Singapore. He is the son of Chiap Kee Seah and Ah Chik Wong. Loy was the husband of Swee Tin Teo for 52 years.
Loy was an old boy of St. Andrews School in Singapore, graduating in 1956, where he was Head Prefect and School Vice-Captain and Chairman of the Civics Club. He trained to be a teacher, receiving his teaching certificate in 1958, and was president of the student union at the Singapore Teachers College. Loy was also accepted into law school in Great Britain, but lacking the funds, he elected to accept a scholarship offered by the Italian government to study marine engineering in Italy. In 1960, Loy set off by cargo ship to Italy on a voyage that lasted one month. He picked up basic Italian from the sailors, using a dictionary and a teach yourself Italian book.
In Italy, Loy studied Italian language at the Italian University for Foreigners in Perugia, then engineering at the University of Pisa, finally obtaining his doctorate in naval architecture and mechanical engineering at the University of Trieste in 1967. While in Trieste, he made many friends from the surrounding region including Yugoslavians, Greeks, South Americans and Egyptians.
Upon returning to Singapore, Loy joined the Singapore Civil Service in the Marine Department and became a chartered engineer in 1969. Continuing to develop his expertise, he obtained his Certificate in Ship Surveying in Australia under the Columbo Plan Fellowship and became a professional engineer in 1972.
After meeting his beautiful wife Swee Tin at a conference, they got married in 1970 . They welcomed their son Jim Lee in 1971.
Loy rose to become deputy director of the Marine Department in Singapore, which is involved in regulating Singapore’s merchant shipping activities including inspecting ships for seaworthiness, enforcing safety conventions, certifying seagoing officers, and overseeing other registrations and manning of ships. Loy represented Singapore at international conferences including establishing a compensation fund for oil pollution, developing rules on shipping nuclear substances, and establishing shipping treaties and conventions. He was able to travel to Brussels, London, Manila and Canberra representing Singapore.
In 1979, Loy transferred first to the Ministry of Environment then to the Ministry of Health, where he was head of management and leader of a system studies team on computerization in 1980. He left the Singaporean Civil Service in 1983. Loy is one of the last of that great generation that helped build Singapore at a time when it was fighting for its very survival to become the advanced economy it is today.
In 1983, Loy immigrated with his wife Swee Tin and son Jim Lee to Canada for better educational and business opportunities and a more relaxed lifestyle. They settled near Toronto where Loy served as the head administrator for a private preparatory school, Sri Sinai International College in Bowmanville, Ontario. Loy then started his own business marketing easily portable medical micro-chips which contained personal medical information that could be easily read by a microscope or magnifying glass while being carried in your wallet. Loy also worked in real estate as a realtor for Canada Trust. He enjoyed meeting new people but did not enjoy working in sales. When Loy retired, he moved to Kingston Ontario then to Montreal, Quebec, finally settling in Brossard Quebec at his final home.
Loy was a major force of nature and left an impression on all he met. He was a cherished husband, father and brother and will be sorely missed. Loy was husband of 52 years to his wife Swee Tin, father to Jim Lee and his wife Kimberlee, grandfather to their two children Paul Loy and Grace Lee. He was brother to Hark Boon, Hark Teck, Hark Meng, Su Sim and Su Suan, and uncle to Peng Wan, Peng Joy, Marjorie, Felix, Gerard, Felicitas, Jacinta and Hiang Kok.
A remembrance service will be held via Zoom on May 21, 2022 at 8:00 A.M. EST (Local Time Montreal, Canada) in a private ceremony for friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Fondation Hopital Charles-Lemoyne, Brossard, Quebec, Canada at https://www.imakeanonlinedonation.org/fhclm/DONSINMEMO/.
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