Mrs. Linda Le Linh Chan

Linda was a loving mom, grandma, and wife. We will always remember our mom as caring, kind, funny, and strong. Her unforgettable warm smile left a lasting impression on those who met her. Mom sacrificed and worked tirelessly to provide a better life for her family. She was a risk taker who braved the dangerous journey as a Vietnamese boat person in search of freedom. Mom believed in herself and never gave up in the face of adversity. She was resilient and resourceful and instilled the same values in us.

Mom was happiest spending time with her family and grandchildren. She was proud to see her children thriving with families and fulfilling careers, and no longer struggling just to survive. We are forever grateful to her for raising a close, warm and loving “sushi family”, a precious gift that will remain with us after she has gone.

She loved flowers, walks in the park, good food, city views, and festive displays and lights, especially at Christmas and Chinese New Years. Despite all the hardships that she endured, she retained a childlike joy and wonder. We have many pictures of mom over the years with cherry blossoms, autumn leaves, at the tulip festival, and watching sunsets. She loved things that were cute – especially stuffed animals – and shared that joy with her grandchildren.

Mom always spoke her mind, had an eye for detail, a good memory and a witty sense of humor. Mom was curious, engaged and took interest in current events, sometimes being more up to date than us. She loved city skylines and modern skyscrapers and never lost excitement for seeing something new. She was always looking forward and rarely dwelled in the past.

Her favorite foods included lobster, crab, dim sum, fish maw crab soup, Hainanese chicken, tropical fruits, egg rolls and ice cream. Although we rarely ate out when we were younger, we made up for it later in life and took her for nice meals and made sure to celebrate birthdays and special holidays. Our mom appreciated and enjoyed every outing with us.

We are deeply saddened by her passing but also take comfort in knowing that she can be together again with our dear Babu who passed away on 19 March 2024. She will be forever remembered with love.

Linda is survived by her three children, Helen, Kevin and Stephen, two daughter-in-laws Sandy and Nadia, and her four grandchildren Ethan, Nathan, Logan and Mason. She is also survived by her three sisters living around the world in Vietnam, US and Canada.

Early Life in Vietnam and Escape

Mom was born December 20, 1947 in Saigon, Vietnam. She was second of three sisters born to her father Tran Giang and mother Ly Bao Lien, who were both born in Guangdong, China and fled to Vietnam in the 1930s during the Sino-Japanese war. She also had a step brother and step sister.

Mom grew up during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Her childhood was marked by hardship. She left school at around 8 years old to help her mother wash glass soy sauce bottles and later worked at a textile factory, where she suffered a work injury to her right arm. While she had no formal education, she taught herself how to read and write Chinese.

Later on, her family relocated to Pleiku, 500 kilometres away from Saigon and a strategically important city for the US during the war. The family ran a beef ball soup and dessert stall until they were evacuated in 1975 following the fall of Saigon. Mom and her family narrowly escaped falling bombs but her 9 year old niece was lost in the chaos.

After returning to Saigon, mom helped her family open a market stall selling threads and yarn wholesale. Mom was good with business and soon they were doing well and became known as the shop run by the “three beautiful sisters,” which attracted a number of suitors, among them being our Dad.

Our dad had just fled the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia in 1975 and was living in Chau Doc, near the Cambodian border. On his regular trip to the wholesale markets, he met our mom. He was drawn to our mom because she was not only beautiful, but kind, funny and smart. He would take her out on his motorbike to go eat, enjoying movies and concerts, including one to see Teresa Deng.

This period of peace was short lived as the communist government tightened their control. Around mid-1978, the government begun sending city dwellers to re-education camps and persecuting the ethnic Chinese, confiscating their business and property including that of mom’s family.

Facing growing repression, Mom saw no future staying in Vietnam and made the bold decision to flee by boat and asked our father to come with her. She had saved up 10oz of gold – a significant sum of money – and in early 1979 they fled by boat, joining the mass exodus of Vietnamese boat people. The UN estimated that hundreds of thousands of people perished at sea. Our parents were lucky, surviving a pirate attack and arrived at a refugee camp in Malaysia (Bidong Island), which at its peak, had over 40,000 refugees crammed into the size of a football field.

Life in their new home in Canada

Our parents eventually resettled in Canada and arrived November 4, 1979 in Canada, sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Port Coquitlam. They briefly lived with a sponsor family before moving in to social housing in Vancouver’s Chinatown, the Mau Dan Cooperative Housing Estate on Keefer St. Their daughter Helen was born in 1981, followed by twins Keven and Stephen in 1983.

Our parents worked tirelessly – Mom held multiple jobs, including sewing work in a factory and domestic help. Dad worked as a tiler and in a furniture factory. They rarely complained and focused on building a better future for their young family.

In 1996, we moved to Port Coquitlam because our parents felt it would be a safer environment for their children to grow up in. Our parents had saved enough to buy a townhouse. It was a major change, far from Chinatown, but it helped turn things around. Her children all graduated from university and built fulfilling careers.

In 2013, after we all moved out, our parents downsized to a condo in Coquitlam where Mom lived until her passing. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and was thrilled to meet baby Mason, who was born November 7, 2024. During this period our mom travelled with us to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bali, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.

Tragedy and Legacy

As our parents seemed to be all set to enjoy their golden years with four grandchildren, tragedy struck seemingly out of nowhere. Our Dad was admitted into ICU on January 5, 2024 for pneumonia and passed away 3 months later on March 18, 2024. Just seven months later, on November 7, 2024, our mom was diagnosed with late-stage inoperable pancreatic cancer and given a few months to live.

She underwent palliative radiation December 27 and was bedridden by early February. Sadly, the decline was very rapid. On Boxing Day 2024, she was still able to walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge, one of the world’s longest, in North Vancouver to enjoy the Christmas lights.

In her final weeks, we cherished every moment together as a family, taking her out in the wheelchair to see the cherry blossoms, enjoying a family meal and watching the sunset at English Bay. Our mom still had a good sense of humor. The week before she passed, we gave her a stuffed bunny and she named it ‘Fai Lok’ in Cantonese, which means ‘Happy’.

Mom was a fighter – she remained hopeful and smiling until the end. Her caregivers often commented on her smile, desire to stay independent, and easygoing nature.

Among all the tragedy, we came together as family, united and strong. On the day she passed, she was surrounded by her family at home – just as she would have wanted.

Mamu, you are gone but never forgotten. We love you forever! ❤️

Link to Dad's obituary:

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/burnaby-bc/eric-chan-11722904