Martin Tin Kit Tse 謝天傑先生

Tse Tin Kit (Martin) was born in 1941 and raised in Quangzhou, China. After living briefly in Hong Kong, Martin moved to Toronto, Canada in 1966, following in the steps of his future wife, Bessie Chen.

Martin’s dream was to become an artist, but his family would not allow him so he chose architecture.

Throughout his life, he would be seen sketching on paper tablecloths restaurants, a whole house design could be rendered in 10 minutes! Often on vacation, other tourists would offer to buy his sketches. He would quickly re-sketch the drawing to keep a copy for himself.

He was an intelligent and quick thinking person. Although lacking in English skills, with the support of Bessie, he put 200% into learning the language quickly. Martin earned his professional architecture license from the Ontario Association of Architects in 1969, a year shorter than normal. In the same year, his first child, Frances, was born. He painted a huge canvas of Niagara Falls to celebrate.

Martin had a successful private architecture practice in Toronto for over 2 decades. Martin designed and built his first family home on Blythwood Road in Toronto in 1977, where he raised his family with his wife, Bessie Tse. They divorced in 1986. Martin moved to Hong Kong in 1990 where he continued his successful architecture career with New World Development Co. He remarried in 1999 to Fong Fong. After two serious strokes in 2002, Martin and Fong Fong relocated to Toronto.

While he was a brilliant architect and artist at heart, Martin led a difficult life due to his mental illness of bipolar. Although deeply loved by his family, he would enter severe periods of depression and it would be hard for anyone to reach him. His happiest times were those in Hong Kong where he would sketch and golf. His intelligence and artistic talents live on in his three granddaughters.

Martin Tin Kit Tse is survived by his sister Yin Ping Tse, brothers Tin Hun Tse and Tin Kit Tse, his first wife Bessie Tse, daughter Frances Tse and son-in-law Adi Ardika, son Kenneth Tse and daughter-in-law Patricia Tse, and three granddaughters, Maia Tse, Alexandra Tse and Santi Ardika, and many others in his extended family, all of whom he carried in his heart.

His dream was always to leave his footprints in the world by designing enduring buildings to last beyond his life. He was more than successful and has left his footprints around the world and in our hearts.

A memorial service in his honor will be held on Saturday, February 18th, 2017 at 11 am at R. S. Kane Funeral Home, 6150 Yonge Street (at Goulding, south of Steeles) with visitation from 10-11 am.

The service will be followed by a lunch reception at Dragon Legend, 25 Lanark Road (HWY 7 and Woodbine).

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Ontario Mental Health Association: https://secure2.convio.net/camh1/site/Donation2?df_id=1520&1520.donation=form1&_ga=1.188506280.1222611133.1486536620