Sidney Tsoi, (蔡锡年), the second son of Ka-Yuen Choi (蔡家源) and Way-Fun Chen (陈蕙芬), was born on April 25th, 1926. He had an older brother and three younger sisters. Growing up in his beautiful hometown of Cheng-Hai, Sidney was a very active boy and enjoyed playing sports, especially soccer. He was a mischievous, a "kid-captain" among his friends. Sidney moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was 7 years old. During WW II, when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, he briefly spent time in Vietnam to continue his education.
Although he came from a family of successful merchants, Sidney never had an interest in the family business. With his kind heart and loving nature, Sidney found many different interests in life. He studied western medicine at the prestigious Sun Yat-Sen medical university where he met and married Ms. Feng E. Wu, a nursing student. He graduated from medical school in the early 50’s, right as China was opening up as a new nation. Sidney and Feng decided to stay in mainland China to contribute toward rebuilding their homeland. He spent the next three decades living in southern China and worked as the president of a clinic providing medical services for under-served suburbs.
A very active member of the community, Sidney loved to help others. When traveling between Guangdong and Hong Kong, he was involved in a shipwreck rescue. He volunteered to dive down into the deep water with a rope tied around his waist to rescue passengers until rescue crew arrived. His heroic act was praised by many, including the local media. During the cultural revolution, streets were blocked and guarded to prevent rioting and looting. For over a year the family home was the neighborhood clinic and he and Feng continued to provide much needed medical support and humanitarian aid to the region. Sidney had a great sense of humor and always knew a great story to tell. He had friends from all walks of life and many followers in addition to his colleagues and scholarly associates.
After immigrating to the US in the 80’s, Sidney continued to stay active in his new community. He went to schools and worked in different fields, including the service industry, manufacturing, and health care. He was always passionate about medical science and helping others. Having worked in China for several decades, Sidney developed a strong interest in traditional Chinese medicine. He never stopped exploring optimal disease management that combined both western and traditional Chinese medicine.
After 66 years of marriage, Sidney and Feng E., have six children (five daughters and a son), and eight grandchildren (three girls and five boys). Despite the challenging nature of balancing a career in medicine and family, he dedicated himself fully to his patients and to his family. Even when material supplies were difficult to obtain, he worked hard to care for his patients well. When he had weekends off, he spent time with the entire family picnicking, taking field trips, and going on country outings. He would save meat and snacks from his lunch for his children to enjoy and he even quit smoking to preserve funding for his daughter to take piano lessons.
Sidney loved nature and animals of all kinds. Over the years, Sidney raised several types of fowl for various reasons. He raised pigeons for long distance flying, chickens for the eggs, and ducks and geese for meat. The family kept a very large aquarium with goldfish and tropical fish, a large selection of roses (over 50 different kinds at one point) and many other special fragrant flowers. He enjoyed watching movies, especially documentary films, listening to classical music and the lovely voice of Bing Crosby. He also enjoyed ballroom dancing and practicing Chinese calligraphy.
Sidney was not only a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather, he was also a great friend, colleague, and mentor. He left his family with lots of loving memories and they will always think of him with a smile and take comfort in knowing that he is now in heaven among beautiful flowers and singing birds.
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