Jerry Jake Lee Leong

Jerry is survived by his wife, Maylene Leong, his daughters Janice Leong and Coleen Barndt, son-in-law Gary Barndt and grandson Taylor Barndt who all live in Vancouver. He was predeceased by his brother Irving, and sisters Irene, Evelyn and Marilyn. He is survived by his sisters Dianne and Sherry and brother Byng and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Jerry was born on July 25, 1934, in Vancouver to Frank King Leong and Ann Silvea Soon. He attended Edith Cavell Elementary and graduated from King Edward High School in 1952. He had 7 brothers and sisters and it was often his responsibility to take care of the younger children in his teenage years. He married Maylene Jang on September 19, 1959. They built a house together with help from many family members in 1963, their home for over 58 years. He did all the house repairs up until they moved out in 2021. Jerry started as a draftsman for Reid Crowther’s and worked there for years before attending night school at BCIT. Later he worked at UBC as an estimator until he retired in 1999. He welcomed his first daughter Janice in 1963 and Coleen in 1966. He taught his children how to build things in the backyard, camp, ski, skate, drive and go on travelling adventures. He also enjoyed taking some of his nephews and nieces camping, for boat rides and other fun activities. His children remember him as a kind, gentle father who encouraged them to go to school to do whatever they wanted and to not stress too much about the little things.

Jerry was accomplished at fixing cars, building or fixing anything he needed in the house, making things out of metal and wood, doing electrical and plumbing work, and he especially liked working in his garden. He was generous with his time to his family, friends, and neighbours, always sharing something from the garden, fixing something in their houses, helping people move with his van, going out for dim sum or just having people come over for a visit. He loved to eat and never gained a pound, many of his family and friends said he had a hollow leg.

Jerry was lucky to have excellent health most of his life, he was physically very strong from spending so much time out in his garden. His family knew he was developing early-stage dementia about 4 years ago. They decided it was best to move them both to Clarendon Court, an assisted living facility in Vancouver, in March 2021. The family would like to thank the amazing caregivers and staff at Clarendon Court where Dad lived for the past 2.5 years. They always looked out for him and helped him in any way they could, his favourite activities there were Wii-bowling, Bingo, Painting, Tea Time and of course the pastries. We would also like to thank Ria and Cyril who helped Dad enjoy many activities inside and outside the care home and gave much-needed help to the family.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Alzheimer Society of BC in Jerry's honour would be greatly appreciated.

A service for Jerry is being held on Thursday, May 25 at 1:00 pm at Ocean View Funeral Home, 4000 Imperial Street, Burnaby.