At the age of 13, Sik Fai and his Uncle Chuck, left for Vancouver on a working ship. When he arrived in Vancouver, his stepmother Anne, gave him the English name Ted. He had three sisters from Anne and Wing’s marriage: Linda, Elaine and Julia. For a while they all lived in the same house on 7th Avenue, in Vancouver. He built strong bonds with his family during this time. His sister Elaine shared with me fond memories of hanging out with her brother in his bedroom in the basement which was filled with bodybuilding and girlie magazines.
He went to elementary school to learn English and other subjects and he then went to high school at Vancouver Tech, where he learned to become a mechanic in the vocational department. He made life long friends during this time. His first job was at the English Bay Fish and Chip shop, followed with South Van Produce, Davie and Thurlow Shell, another gas station at Thurlow and Howe and ending with Ocean Cement. Ted worked hard his entire life. While working at South Van Produce, he worked evenings at Davie and Thurlow Shell and, when it closed, he continued working a second job at the gas station at Thurlow and Howe. He continued this for 17 years, from his days at South Van Produce to Ocean Cement.
Ted loved hanging out with his buddies. Some of his stories included a row boat that they launched from Deep Cove, English Bay and Whyte Cliff Park. They would row the boat over to and around Bowen Island, they also found themselves caught in the rip tide underneath the Second Narrows Bridge. He would retell these stories his whole life.
As evident in many pictures Ted liked to work out with weights and pose for pictures in the back yard with his friends. In his late teens he started riding motorcycles. Along with many friends, Ted always seemed to have a girl on his arm. He had style, charm, was easy going and had a winning smile, so it’s not hard to believe that he had many of both.
He met Lynda Burnette, in 1964, at a restaurant she was working at in the West End. They married in 1966, the same year he took a heavy equipment course at Nanaimo Vocational. Lynda still has the love letters he wrote to her while he was there.
Ted and Lynda have three children, Ted Jr., Tara and Terresa. They have three grandchildren, Cassandra, Malia and Sahara, and two step grandchildren, Erin and Alex. Ted also had a father/son relationship with Lynda’s youngest brother Scott, who was two years old when he met Lynda. Scott joined the family often and went on annual camping vacations to Whispering Pines, in the Shuswap.
Ted and Lynda divorced in 1993 and remained close friends.
After Lynda, Ted met Josie and her children Carol and Gerald. Together, Ted and Josie travelled. They went to Hawaii, Hong Kong, San Francisco and the interior of BC. Ted remained close friends with Josie and her family after she moved to Hong Kong.
Ted loved hanging out with his family and friends every chance he could get. He would drop in on his parents, brother and sisters often. If given a key, he would let himself in and call out, ‘Is anyone home?’. He enjoyed hosting BBQs in his back yard, hanging out with his neighbours and friends, He maintained a strong 40 year bond with his neighbours Lionel and Gary. He rarely said No to an invite or visit and always made sure that they were doing okay. He developed many lifelong friendships, there was Hon, Ed and his childhood friend, Mo who kept a tradition of dropping in at the family house on Christmas Day for over 30 years. Later in life after retirement he would travel, often by bus over to Champlain Mall to hang out with his coffee buddies Mel and the gang. And then there was his lifelong 80 year friendship with Cynthia, who is with us here today.
We are finding out he touched many of our friends, family and others in an impressionable and lasting way. A common comment has been… ‘Ted was one cool dude!” Even the staff here at the Funeral Home, when we gave our Funeral Director, Chris, Ted’s Johnny Cash t-shirt to wear in the casket he exclaimed ‘That is Friggin awesome’. Heather, the administrator that compiled the folders for the service confided to us that the black and white photo of Ted holding the cigarette is one of the best that has ever been submitted. Last night Lina, one of the attendants during the Family Visitation teared up with emotion of the moment. He had that infectious, magic touch that left an impression on others… even in death!
Ted passed away peacefully on August 1, on his terms, in his home, in the presence of loved ones.
To close I would like to share with you a text written by our mother that was read to Ted shortly before he passed.
It is time now for you to take your next journey ahead , it is hard to let you go, but you are uncomfortable and in pain, so we let you go with love and heartbreaking sadness.
We are told that the journey ahead of you will be peaceful and that your mom and dad as well as others will be there to be with you.
Thank you for the life you have shared with us, we will always love you.”
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