Jiu Hon (John) Wong (黃昭漢)

(aged 93) in Vancouver, BC. John was born in Guangzhou City in Guangdong

Province, China, (中國廣東省廣州市) to Wai Lai Wong (黃維禮) and Oi Yen Mah

(馬藹然) on the 20th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar in 1926

(Sunday, September 26, 1926). John is survived by his two children,

Peter (Mavis) and Ronin (Marianne); two grandchildren, Adelina (Trevor)

and Jonathan; and great-granddaughter, Gemma.

Even at a young age, John excelled at school. He had fond memories of his

essays being selected and posted in the classroom. In his teens, through

a series of exams, he was admitted into a prestigious boarding school that

also provided military training in Guilin (桂林). Unfortunately after just

a little over two years of study at the school, the Japanese army was

approaching Guilin and battles broke out.

John quickly became part of the combat with clashes throughout the

surrounding area. He remembered once while on patrol his group spotted the

enemy below their position at the top of a hill. They quickly set up their

machine guns and a fierce battle began. Many of his colleagues died during

various scrimmages.

Because of his bravery, he was transported in a Flying Tiger (飛虎隊)

aircraft to Burma to join the New First Army (新一軍), the most elite

Chinese military unit, to assist the British and the American to continue

fighting the Japanese in Burma. But soon World War II came to an end with

the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japanese soil. Subsequently John went

back to Guangzhou and was promoted to a higher ranking officer at the

Guangzhou Security Command (廣州保安司令部).

He did not go north as he did not want to participate in the Chinese civil

war. After working in Guangzhou a few years, in 1949 realizing that the

Communist would be taking over, he left China for Hong Kong.

He had to start all over and eventually met and married Yim Sheung Lee

(李艷嫦) in 1956. The couple welcomed their first son Peter in 1957 and

second son Ronin in 1965. In Hong Kong, John had worked in many different

area, including running a restaurant and servicing in a hotel.

In 1971, the family immigrated to Ottawa before ultimately settling in

Vancouver. In Canada, John worked mainly in the hospitality industry both

in servicing and culinary sectors. In his spare time John enjoyed creating

delicious dishes to the delight of his family. He also looked forward to

playing with his grandchildren Adelina and Jonathan.

After retirement John continued to live an active lifestyle going swimming

regularly and practicing Tai Chi together with his wife Yim. In 2019 he

welcomed the arrival of his great-granddaughter, Gemma.

From his early military training, John developed a strong will to survive

and had come back from many setbacks in his life. Yet many times he had

shown kindness and gentleness to everyone he had come to touch.

Please join the family at the Chapel Courtyard of Ocean View Funeral Home

on Friday, March 6, 2020 at 9:00 am for visitation and at 10:00 am for

funeral service. Burial to follow at Ocean View Burial Park.