Wing Wah George Gin

George was born in China in 1929. He is lovingly survived by his beloved wife Mae Kon; daughter Florence (John); son Bill (Nora); grandsons Dennis (Betty), Alexander, Christopher, Elliot; great grandson Jacob. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Funeral service will be held Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 2 pm at Forest Lawn Funeral Home. Interment to follow in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the section of 'Garden of Love'.

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Eulogy by son, Bill:

My father was a very simple man. He doesn’t need a flashy car or a fancy house. He doesn’t wear expensive brand name clothes and he didn’t want a big screen TV. He’s not a drinker and not a smoker.

When my father came to Canada, his father told him to work hard and save every penny so they can go back to China and build a big house. Life for the first Chinese who came to Canada was desperately hard. But he did save every penny he earned, but not to go back to China as a rich man. Some men, who came to Canada like my Father, forgot about their families in China. That was not my father. He sent support money back regularly to make sure that his wife and children and his mother have enough to live by. But more importantly, my father saved his money to bring his family to Canada, first my mother, my sister and me, and later his mother.

But even when we were re-united in Canada, I hardly saw my father because his worked on a steamship that went to Alaska. He was at sea more often than he was home. He really never had a chance to see me and my sister grow up.

I think there are two ways to live your life. You can spend your money on yourself and enjoy life or you can work to make a better future for your family. For my father, it was family came first and he needed very little for himself. He believed that education was the key to a better future. I remember in elementary school, I would come home with a straight “A” report card. And he would look at it and scoffed, ‘Hy coll law’? It was his way of saying, ‘You can do better’. But when I graduated from grade 7 at the top of the class, I suddenly saw how proud and happy he was. He was proud and happy on every graduation whether it was me or Florence or his grandchildren receiving our diplomas.

My father was not a hugging type of person. I guess people from Toishan are mostly not the hugging type. There are other ways as you know to show love and affection. In Toishan tradition, you take care of those you love, even if it means you eat less when they are hungry or you cover your love ones with your blanket when they are cold. My father was a Toishan father.

An Obituary by his daughter: Florence

Dearest Dad:

Words cannot express my heartfelt pain,

In losing you in such sudden vain,

Maybe by writing this poem will clear my brain,

In showing people the things you have gain.

You have taught me many ways to aim,

High up in the sky even though it looks so vain,

You shower me with words that sound disdain,

But your encouraging words have really stain.

Life is a journey that travels like a train,

Winding uphill and downhill through many veins,

Make the most with what you contain,

Always smile inspite of the rain.

You have worked hard to earn your fame,

For all the years you have toiled and strain,

Thank you Dad for showing me the main

Goals that will be your everlasting gain.

Eulogy by grandson, Elliot:

Grandpa was in the hospital and Chris was telling us, “touch his head, because that’s where he feels best right now.” And so everyone reached for his forehead. Soon after, my grandpa blurted, “why is everyone touching me?”.

Dennis, Chris, Alex and I grew up at my grandpa's house playing with GI Joe action figures, watching WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and playing soccer in the basement. Every Saturday our families got together there for dinners. My grandpa always brought home a roast beef that my grandma would spend the whole day cooking.

These memories honestly feel like yesterday. Yesterday Alex and I were 5 years old, chasing things in the yard while grandpa watered the flowers. Yesterday, grandpa was here. In the blink of an eye things change. Now we're 30 and the world is different.

People say that we are who we are because of those around us. Grandpa was a generous and stoic man. The only thing he ever asked for from me was good grades. He never missed and always remembered my birthday. Last Saturday was the first birthday dinner he wasn't there for and he was greatly missed.

Over the last few years I learned to appreciate the preciousness of our time together. He loved following the Canucks and we often talked over dinner about the last game, the latest player signing. He was a true fan. And you know how I know? It's because he knew and always talked about how they were all overpaid and under-performing. The sign of a true fan, no sugar-coating, calling it as it is.

Over the last years we continued the tradition of weekend dinners, but now at my parents. My grandma used to make “cha siew bows” for us all. And each week now, grandpa went out and bought me a box full of “cha siew bows”. He'd go out of his way to ensure that I got them, once or twice it even made him late. Even when I had a busy week and I told him my freezer was full of “cha siew bows”, he didn't fail. Another box of fresh ones for the week ahead. It made him happy and, it made me happy too.

In the blink of an eye, my grandpa has moved on. But he will continue being with us, forever in our hearts. Thank you, grandpa, for a lifetime of happy memories.

I want to thank everyone for their love and support, not just through these last few weeks, but for all the years that I've known.

Eulogy by Grandson, Chris

It still doesn't feel real to me. That my grandfather who has been a constant in my life for the past thirty five years has passed away. Now it is hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I am not going to see him again and I can't even begin to describe the hole that his passing leaves in my heart.

I know that my grandfather would not want me to be sad. He was practical and selfless and he would never want to trouble anyone. So I will try to fill the hole that I feel with those memories of my Grandfather that I cherish so much. Such as when I was young and how he used to tickle me and my cousin until we laughed so hard we couldn't breathe. And how he beamed when he attended my graduation from University. i will fill that hole with the warm feeling that I got knowing that my Grandfather's love for me and his support for me was unconditional.

Yeh Yeh, from you I have seen how you always put family first and how you were always so generous to others. I will do my best to take these qualities and make it part of me as well. Thank you for always believing in me. I am proud to have been your grandson. I love you and I will miss you dearly.

Eulogy by Grandson, Dennis:

My grandfather was a hardworking, proud, and generous man. He may not have been around my Mom and Uncle when they were growing up, but to me, he was either home or back at home by dinner time. My grandfather was relatively quiet and kept a lot of things to himself, but you knew he always had a personal opinion about any topic or subject matter. I believe my grandfather was a lead by example rather than vocal kind of person.

I remember when I was being babysat by my grandmother that my grandfather came home every day by 5:30 pm like clock work, just in time for dinner. He was always on time or early. He never wanted to be late.

On Saturdays, it was tradition to have dinner at my grandfather’s house. The majority of the time, dinner was roast beef. My cousins, my brother, and I arrived at our grandfather’s house by the afternoon and spend the time playing outside or in the basement. When dinner rolled around, we hovered in the kitchen and watched my grandfather carve the roast. He would slice little bits of meat off, just so that we could have a little snack right before dinner.

After dinner, we would follow my grandfather out onto the back porch and watch him toss the beef rib bones into the neighbour’s yard so that the German Shepard dog living next door would have beef bones to dine on for dinner. That was my grandfather; always making sure everyone was fed, including the neighbour’s dog.

One of my fondest memories of my grandfather was watching him mow his lawn when I was 8 or 9 years old. He had the coolest lawn mower on the block. It wasn’t your ordinary rotary lawn mower. For those lawn mower enthusiasts, it was a California Cutter self-propelled reel lawn with the grass catcher on the back. Before he started up the lawn mower, I would watch him lubricate all the bearings and moving parts. Then he would start mowing the lawn and I would follow a few paces behind him. First by mowing an outline of the outer edges of his lawn and then going back and forth from right to left until his lawn was completely mowed. He would then take the time to dust down the lawn mower from top to bottom taking care to brush every little crevasse. As a child, I thought that was incredibly fun and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to push a lawn mower. As I reflect back, I see the purpose in my grandfather’s attention to detail and his care of his possessions. The very lawn mower still runs today.

Another memory of my grandfather was watching him hang up Christmas lights. He would bring out a large box filled with strings of Christmas lights. He would then climb up an old wooden ladder and hang the Christmas lights underneath the gutters on the front of the house. I thought he was the bravest grandfather to climb up an old wooden ladder that would flex and creek as he climbed up each rung. I would untangle the string of lights out of the box and hand them up to him so that he could connect them one by one. After the job was done, I thought my grandfather had the best set of Christmas lights on the block because they were multi-coloured lights and his hung from the top of the house rather than just around a tree. But most of all, his Christmas lights were more special than any others on the block because I got to help my grandfather.

During his remaining days in the hospital his focus was on his family and their responsibilities. He would ask if his wife had eaten and was okay. When I saw him in the hospital, he asked if I just got off work, implying to me to finish my work and not take time off away from work just to see him. He even said to my Mom, “Don’t stay in the hospital with me. You have to be at home and baby-sit Jacob (his Great Grandson) because his parents are working.” My Mom told him that it was the weekend and Jacob’s parents were taking care of him. That was my grandfather... always concerned about the well-being of his family.

It is a sad time knowing that my grandfather is no longer here any longer. But I do want people to be happy for him knowing that he had his independence and did what he wanted to do. My grandfather was able to live at his own house with his beloved wife. He drove to Chinatown to have coffee with his friends and talk about the Canucks. Also, he met up with his friends at Hastings Racecourse to watch thoroughbreds race around the track. My grandfather would then come home by 5:30 pm and have dinner with his wife. That was his route. He had opportunities to travel and visit relatives, but whenever he was offered the opportunity; he turned it down without a thought because he would rather continue his everyday route and spend time with his friends. It may sound pretty mundane to you and me, but it was his retired life that he chose to live. One in which he enjoyed doing day in and day out. And he was able to do that till the very end.

I will miss you, Gong Gong. We will all miss you, but we will always have our memories of you and a little of you inside all of us. We wish you well on your new adventure in heaven, where Bak Bak and Bak Gong is waiting for you. We will always love you.