Kenneth Fei Kam Yuen

Born July 6, 1935, in Taishan, Guangdong, China, Ken lived through the Japanese occupation of the Second World War and then the Chinese civil war, enduring famine and bandit attacks on his village.

In 1950, he, along with his mother and younger brother, immigrated to Canada to join his father, who owned the Mt. Shasta Café on East Hastings Street.

Always an excellent student, Ken attended primary school and Taishan High School in China. In Vancouver, he attended Lord Strathcona Elementary School and Britannia Secondary School before earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in physics from the University of British Columbia.

He married Judy, his sweetheart of four years, in 1962, and a year later started a family. They eventually settled in Burnaby after Ken earned a Ph.D. in physics from Simon Fraser University in 1972.

He worked his entire professional career as a medical physicist at the British Columbia Cancer Institute (now BC Cancer).

In his younger days, Ken loved playing mahjong, volleyball and tennis. As he got older, sports gave way to ballroom dancing, especially in retirement. Young or old, Ken could always enjoy music and learning new things. His abiding passion was theoretical physics. He found great pleasure in the simple things in life, such as a Tim Horton’s coffee and a good book. His greatest pride was his grandchildren, obvious by his beaming smile in family photographs.

Ken is predeceased by his father Yip Ting, mother Lim Nuey, an older brother who died in infancy, older sisters Seuhn Yi, Sun Kwai and Ying Tai, and younger brother Garson. He is survived by wife Judy, children Clarence and Adrienne (Brent), and grandchildren Brian and Elizabeth, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Ken’s family will miss hearing stories of his childhood in China and his youth in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Those who knew him will remember Ken for his kindness and ever-present smile, his love of food and physics, and his devotion to family.

A service was held on January 16, 2025, to celebrate Ken’s life. Words cannot express the family’s gratitude to the many friends and relatives in attendance. Those who could not attend were dearly missed. All the flowers, donations, and kind condolences were greatly appreciated.