Mr. James Che Cheong Poon

James Poon was a gentleman, scholar, father, husband and grandfather who will be remembered for the good example he set for those to follow. He was a loving husband to Iris, a father figure to his son Peter and daughter Jeanne. James will always be remembered as a strong man who loved his family and looked out for those he cared for. His simple beginning does not begin to tell of all he has accomplished in his life.

Starting out at HSBC in Hong Kong, James quickly rose from a junior teller to a bank manager at a young age. Soon afterwards, he moved his entire family from the familiar surroundings of Hong Kong to a new country – Vancouver, BC, Canada. There he started life again working in a familiar industry – retail banking. He had the good luck to be accepted in the bank manager training program with Canada Trust. James worked hard and quickly made his mark and became a full fledged manager in Asian banking for TD Canada Trust. He ran the Richmond TD branch like it was his family. All of his staff will say that he treated them more as a friend than their manager. Even after retiring, he kept in close contact with those he once worked with.

One of James memorable activities was being part of the Hong Kong Merchants’ Association of Vancouver. He served as their Treasurer for a good number of years. He actively participated in their many activities and events.

After James retired, he still maintained the active lifestyle he had before retiring. He enjoyed gardening, biking, and hiking. One of James’ favourite past-times was reading about Chinese history and listening to classical music. In fact his favourite classical composer was J.S. Bach and Beethoven. In addition to these past-times, James also enjoyed a good movie.

James was also a Christian at heart. Although only becoming a Christian late in life, he truly lived the life of Christian even before becoming one.

After contracting cancer, James never once gave into the illness. He maintained a positive attitude and worked with the doctors in trying out different cures. Even after being bed-ridden from the disease, his will never slowed down. Always on his mind was to look after and care for his family. James maintained a positive attitude until the end.

Come celebrate the life of James Che Cheong Poon at Ocean View Funeral Home, Burnaby, BC on May 9th, 2011.