Shuit Chun Tom

Our mother Shuit Chun Tom (née Yip) (譚葉雪珍)was born in 1930 in Yangmei (洋美) Village in Guangdong (廣東). The third daughter of a prosperous merchant, she had 3 sisters and 3 brothers. She grew up during a tumultuous period in the world and in China: the Great Depression, the Japanese invasion and occupation of China, World War II, civil war and the Communist revolution in China. Amazingly, she managed to have a reasonable childhood, getting a good education and even learning classical Chinese poetry. She married Wah Jow Tom (譚華就) in 1949 and had four sons over the years: Jim (樹釧), Henry (樹康), Peter (樹柏) and David (樹廣). Sponsored by our grandfather, the family immigrated to Canada in stages. Jim immigrated in 1954, followed by our father in 1957. She moved to Hong Kong with Henry and Peter in 1954 and brought them to Canada in 1960. David was born in Canada in 1961,

Almost immediately after she landed in Vancouver, she started work in our grandfather’s business: Fong Lee Co. – a Chinese butcher and barbecue shop in Chinatown. We lived above the store. She had an entrepreneurial spirit, developing new products for the store, including soya chicken with a secret recipe for the sauce, renowned beef jerky and dried patties of duck meat that had a unique blend of sweet and savoury flavour. Beyond the store, she and our father invested in a series of apartment buildings.

She worked extremely hard, but enjoyed nice things too. As business prospered, my parents looked for quieter places to live than in Chinatown and moved to houses in better neighbourhoods. She also travelled with our father, starting with the USA, but soon branched out to places in Europe and Asia. They joined friends on international tours, made many trips to China, and enjoyed cruises.

She believed deeply in family, and cohesiveness among her children and grandchildren. She also maintained strong ties with her extended family in China. She and our father sponsored her nephews, nieces and a sister to immigrate and begin new lives in Canada. She adored her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. Indeed, the sight of a child never failed to make her smile.

Our mother was a strong woman, physically and mentally. She set an example for us all.

She was predeceased by our father and is survived by her sons and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses and great-grandchildren.

Rest in peace, mom.

我們的母親譚葉雪珍於1930年出生於廣東省洋美村。她是富裕商人的第三個女兒，有三個姊妺和三個兄弟。她成長於世界和中國動盪的時期：大蕭條、日本侵略和占領中國、第二次世界大戰、內戰以及中國共產革命。令人驚訝的是，她擁有了一個相對平靜的童年，接受了良好的教育，甚至學習了中國古典詩歌。 1949年，她與譚華就結婚，育有四個兒子：樹釧、樹康、樹柏和樹廣。在祖父的資助下，全家分階段移民加拿大。樹釧於1954年移民，我們的父親於1957年移民。她於1954年帶著樹康和樹柏移居香港，並於1960年將他們帶到加拿大。樹廣於1961年在加拿大出生。

她抵達溫哥華後不久，便開始工作在我們祖父的生意——唐人街的逢利公司（肉舖和燒烤店）。我們住在店樓上。她很有創業精神，為店裡開發新產品，包括秘製醬汁的豉油雞、遠近聞名的牛肉乾以及甜鹹口味獨特的鴨肉乾。除了店鋪，她和我們的父親還投資了一系列公寓大樓。

她工作非常努力，但也懂得享受生活。隨著生意興隆，我的父母開始尋找比唐人街更安靜的住所，搬到了更好的社區。她也經常和我們的父親一起旅行，最初去了美國，但很快就擴展到了歐洲和亞洲。他們曾與朋友們一起進行國際旅行，多次前往中國，也享受過郵輪之旅。

她非常重視家庭，尤其珍惜子女和孫子女之間的團結。她也與在中國的親戚保持著密切的聯繫。她和我們的父親資助了她的侄子、侄女和一位妹妹移民加拿大，開啟新的生活。她疼愛她的孫子和曾孫。她只要看到孩子，就會露出笑容。

我們的母親是一位身心都無比堅強的女性。她為我們所有人樹立了榜樣。

我們的父親已先她而去，她身後留下了她的兒子們及其配偶、孫輩及其配偶以及曾孫輩。

媽媽，您安息。