Stanley Tsai

Stanley 蔡澄玄 was born on April 19, 1930 in Shanghai, China. His grandfather had silk factories. Stanley’s mother passed away three months after he was born, and his father remarried. Stanley had five younger siblings. Stanley was raised by his paternal grandparents.

Stanley remembers being very sick as a child, and being constantly on medication. At age 8, he was so ill that the doctors thought he would not survive. His grandmother took a late train to Hangzhou 杭州 雲栖山's temple, collected a bag of incense ashes from a grand monk and returned to Shanghai to feed him the ashes. Stanley recovered and returned to the mountain to become a Buddhist. He received a Buddhist name from the abbot, 玄祺.

Stanley went to a British school in Shanghai until 1949. Stanley and Amelia met as teenagers in Shanghai, when he was 15 and she was 14. Stanley proposed to Amelia Sun at the Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 1949.

Amelia’s father had previously moved to Hong Kong. Stanley’s aunt managed to get six tickets on a Jardine’s ship to go to Hong Kong. Stanley and Amelia, and her two sisters and two brothers, traveled together to Hong Kong in 1949.

Stanley and Amelia were married in Hong Kong on March 22, 1952. They had four children: Robert, Lydia, Charles and Lisa. Stanley was an avid sportsman, winning trophies in playing football, tennis, table tennis, snooker and mahjong.

Stanley worked at the Hong Kong Standard newspaper as an English language reporter for eight years. He subsequently worked in the public relations department for an insurance company, American International Assurance, and became a public relations manager. He was in charge of organizing many conventions in different locations.

Fifty years ago, the family emigrated to Vancouver, arriving in 1973. He worked in a variety of jobs, including operating a grocery store in Chinatown and a fur shop at Oakridge called Valdanti Fur.

Stanley was a gracious host. He loved dining out with friends and family. He loved socializing with friends, over dinners, golf, mahjong, and table tennis. Over the years, he organized many cruises to travel with groups of friends.

For many years, Stanley belonged to the Universal Buddhist Temple 世界佛教會 in Vancouver. In 1990, he attended the Buddhist Light International Convention in Los Angeles. He was involved in founding the Buddhist Light Temple 佛光山 in Richmond. He remained an adviser to the temple, and attended the World Buddhist Convention fourteen times.

Stanley and Amelia are the proud grandparents of Alexander, who is currently studying medicine in Cardiff, Wales. They were happy to have him visit at Christmas, 2022.

Amelia was admitted to hospital in March 2023 due to a fall. Stanley was visiting her everyday in the hospital, holding her hand each time as he was leaving.

Due to a hip fracture from a fall in 2022 while playing table tennis at age 92, Stanley was unable to drive for several months. His driver's licence was nearing its expiry date, and he decided to apply to renew his licence. He had the pleasure of receiving his new driver's licence in the mail, the same day as he passed away suddenly at home on April 27, 2023.

Funeral service will be held at Ocean View Funeral Home, 4000 Imperial Street in Burnaby, at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, 2023. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Buddhist Light Temple 佛光山 (provide name and address for a charitable donation receipt):

佛堂捐款 etransfer:

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