Janet was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia to her parents, Tai Seong Lai and Yoon Moi Choon. Janet is the second youngest of her seven siblings.
Due to the family financial hardship, Janet began working at the early age of twelve. She would attend work after school, sewing shoes with her mother. She took on the responsibility of feeding the family chickens and cooking for her family after returning from work. After cooking and cleaning, she still managed to complete her homework before going to bed.
After successfully completing Form 5 (High School), Janet landed a job selling napkins to restaurants and hawker stalls. Despite not having any sales experience, she impressively climbed her way to become the top saleswoman of her company.
In 1982 she moved to Winnipeg to attend The University of Manitoba, Class of 1986. During her time at the university, Janet met the love of her life and best friend, Calvin Why-Meng Gan. They married in 1986 and ultimately settled in Vancouver in 1990.
As a mother of three, Janet ensured her children, Catherine, Kevin, and Jeffrey, had the opportunity to be successful by enrolling them in many extracurricular activities, such as piano, swimming, and Kumon. However, her son Jeffrey was unique and diagnosed with autism at an early age. As the dedicated mother that she was, Janet researched schools, spoke with consultants, and built a team to support him.
Janet insisted on being a mother first and eventually left her job to focus on raising and supporting her children. By virtue of her ability to converse in multiple languages, she began her new career as a home-office accountant.
She is adored and survived by her husband of 35 years, Calvin; children, Catherine (Robin), Kevin and Jeffrey; grandchildren, Cody; siblings Edwin, Frank, William, Billy, Susan, and Rosemary; and numerous other family members and friends.
The visitation will be held on Sunday, December 5th, 2021 at 4:30pm-6:30pm and a prayer service and Funeral mass will be held on Monday, December 6th, 2021 at 12:30pm at Forest Lawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 3789 Royal Oak Ave, Burnaby, BC. V5G 3M1.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests, donations in Janet’s name may be made to the organizations closest to her heart as listed below:
• The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
• BC Cancer Society
• VOKRA - Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue
• Ling Yen Mountain Temple Canada
• Fu Hui Buddhist Temple Society
• San Hui Buddhist Society
• St. Paul Hospital Foundation
• Royal Columbia Hospital Foundation
• Burnaby Hospital Foundation
Please consider directing your proceeds to...
As the family will respectively allocate the proceeds to respective organizations. Cash donations will also be available at the service.
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