Cecily Yip

Cecily was born on May 5, 1925 in Victoria to Cecil Sit Shiu Lee and Grace Cumyow, She had 2 older brothers- Gerald and Vincent. Cecily’s mother was the eldest daughter of Alexander Won Cumyow, the first Chinese person born in Canada at Fort Douglas, B.C.

The family moved to Vancouver where Cecily attended elementary and high school. There was no thought in those days of attending university so Cecily trained in bookkeeping and other secretarial skills to get a job.

In 1947, Cecily married Sun and purchased their house in East Van. Soon after, they had 2 children, Janice and Doug who would marry Stan & Moira respectively.

In 1973, Cecily started working part time in the item records department for the Bay. She loved the independence and camaraderie of being in the workplace. Her duties were of a bookkeeping nature, prior to tracking sales of goods by computer, but on Bay Days, she would be recruited to work on the floor. She loved this!

Cecily and Sun encouraged their children to go to university and they were proud that both their children and their spouses got university degrees and went on to have successful careers.

Cecily cherished the time she spent with Doug’s children, Alannah and Trevor and she loved watching them grow up. She was able to FaceTime and text message on her iPad and she looked forward to FaceTime chats and receiving and yes, texting messages.

Little did anyone know how many hidden talents Cecily had. Firstly, she was the quintessential homemaker- cook and baker extraordinaire and seamstress who sewed all her own and Janice’s clothes. She upholstered furniture, she knitted and she painted. She loved Chinese watercolour painting and her patience and dedication to this fine, detailed art form won praise from many.

Cecily lived 98 years and with her quiet determination remained fiercely independent, living in the family home and cooking her own meals until less than 2 weeks before her passing.

At her request, there will be a private family service.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Burnaby Hospital Foundation would be greatly appreciated.