Mr. Leslie Chu

Leslie was born on March 14th 1929 in the Gee Village near Hoiping in Guangdong province, where he was raised by his mother Mah Fun Lui. His only sister passed away when she was three years old and his father, Sit Hung, worked in the Philippines.

At age 13 with only 5 years of formal education, Leslie travelled to Guilin, where he got his first job serving food and doing laundry for a construction company. After burning his manager's clothes with his first attempt, he quickly learned how to use the charcoal iron. Six months later, Leslie enrolled in the Air Force as a mechanic, telling them that he was sixteen years old and putting metal in his pockets to help increase his weight. During the evacuation of Guilin, he and six friends stuck together, traveling a hundred kilometres on the top of a train before marching for more than six months to Chongqing, scavenging abandoned homes for food, and sucking on icicles. "Wherever we went, we stuck together," he said about the experience "That's the important thing: look after each other."

Following the war, Leslie transferred to Guangdong, where he read widely, studied every subject he could at night school and went to the movies every Sunday when army personnel received free admission. He was a highly skilled ping pong player, a skill that he developed through hours of play. On February 14 1952, Leslie joined his uncle in Edmonton with $2 in his pocket. It took him six years to pay back the loan for his travel expenses. His first job was washing dishes in a restaurant. He later earned a job at a bakery by offering to work for free and working harder than anybody else there. He saved every dollar he had to send home to his mother.

Leslie moved to Vancouver in 1955. He married Miu Sheung Ma in 1960. Together, they built a family and many businesses. Leslie never shied away from an opportunity and tried to learn from every person he met. Some of his bigger business ventures included building Vancouver Specials; running a lumber yard; developing, manufacturing, and installing cellulose insulation; and owning commercial buildings. He started recycling before it became common. He built his Vancouver Specials from used lumber spending hours pulling out nails. He recycled paper products, repaired wood pallets and even tried recycling transformer oil. His three sons Peter, Ed and Marvin grew up working with their parents in various capacities.

Leslie was excited to greet daughters-in-law, Miriam, Ramona and Tasha into his family. He was thrilled with his grandchildren: Omar, Sammy, Dani, Jamal, Nikolas, Nadia, Jasper and Jonathan. He felt blessed and loved to be surrounded by family.

Leslie and Miu Sheung enjoyed travelling the world. They were greeted by friends and family in many places they visited. Leslie loved learning about all the countries that he toured. 40 years after leaving the Air Force, without the aid of social media, Leslie searched diligently for his friends from that time—eventually locating and visiting all six. After his wife's passing, he continued travelling. He enjoyed his cruises with his son Peter, and family trips with Ed, Marvin and their families.

Upon retirement, Leslie frequented Jack's New & Used Building Materials in Burnaby, which closed shortly after he could no longer visit. If a friend or relative needed anything for their house, Leslie would have it in his basement and promptly deliver it with a smile and some DIY advice.

Leslie loved listening to Tchaikovsky's music. He was a BC Lions season ticket holder for more than 40 years and enjoyed attending games with his sons and grandchildren. After a lifelong love of gardening, he also developed a passion for penjing. He was extremely proud of his plants and loved helping co-ordinate the Chinese Penjing Society of Canada's annual activities including a penjing exhibition and a garden tour.

Leslie was an extremely strong-willed man who thrived when tackling any challenge and was always willing to lend a helping hand to friends and family. He evoked loyalty in many, and the family would like to thank Joanna for her great loyalty and care in his final years. We are so proud of all his life achievements and he will be dearly missed.

A service is to be held at Forest Lawn Memorial on April 29th at 10a.m. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions attendance is limited.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to his preferred charities Covenant House, Canadian Red Cross, Heart and Stroke Foundation or a charity of your choice.

The live stream will be available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GhjTbGbgY8&ab_channel=DaniChu. The livestream will open at 9:45 but won't start until the service does.

Funeral arrangements under the direct supervision of Forest Lawn Funeral Home.