Eric's Tribute to His Mother
Before I begin, I would like to thank all of you here on behalf of my family, to help us mark my mother's passing. 

As we illustrate another day of celebration of the life of a loved one, it only emphasizes the importance of sharing our time with the people we love and the value we place on time. 

Equally as important, we give our sincere thanks for the flowers and other expressions of love received during our time of bereavement. 

To commence, I'd like to thank my 3 sisters (Shirley, Helen, and Lana) for coordinating today's service and my brother-in-laws, Dick and Bill for being the emcees. 

With all said an important person Anna and I would like to give special recognition to is my eldest sister, Shirley. 

My mother experienced a stroke immediately after my father's passing. 

Over the past 2.5 years, Shirley had dedicated countless hours of her valuable time to feed and care for mom.

Again, Shirley, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

Another family member we must say thank you to is Thoo Sim. My aunt saved the day by helping us contact all the relatives. 
Thank you Thoo Sim. 

In addition, we want to send thanks to my nieces and nephews who have helped us organize this day - especially Sharon, who had the mundane task of scanning most of the pictures for today's slideshow. 
We also want to acknowledge Brian for advertently dropping everything in Toronto to attend Grandma's funeral.

Just as important, we want to extend our special thanks to the following 3 organizations that we feel should be presented with JD Power awards for their exceptional customer care. 

Our gratitude goes to Glenhaven Funeral Home who has gone above and beyond to ensure that my mom is comfortable before she enters her final resting place as well as the special consideration they have provided to our family in our time of need. We cannot stress how happy we have been with their service. 

In addition, Little Mountain Care Home for their initial care for mom before her dementia advanced. 

Last but not the least, Fair Haven United Church Homes for their phenomenal care throughout my mother's final 6.5 years in which during this time, my mother needed extra attention, as she could no longer function independently. 

We feel fortunate that the Fair Haven staff adopted Mom as one of their extended family members. This was demonstrated daily in the way they attended care for Mom. 

On this note, today, I am truly privileged to be here to speak to you about my mother. 

My mom was very shy and quiet, yet she was strong and had lived her life courageously. At times, when given the opportunity she presented her humorous side. 

She was a great friend to many and valued the simplest things in life. 

She also had a strong passion for gardening. Some say that gardeners are special people as gardening is tedious and hard work. A gardener must have nurturing skills and patience in order for the plants to blossom. This statement truly defines my mother. 

Being a new immigrant in the 1960s, she worked very hard and found ways to overcome daily struggles. My mom's growing devotion to God helped her conquer these challenges. 

Being the only boy in the family, I instigated some of these problems. One example is during my rebellious teenage years, I remember how I would continually keep my mom waiting and worrying at home while I stayed out until wee hours hanging out with friends. Thinking back, at times I had been a bad little boy ok 5ft 11 little. 

With all jokes aside, Mom, I am truly thankful for your love and patience. Thank you for being proud of the man I have become.

Other fondest memories of my mom are her love for music and cooking. Before she lost her ability to speak, she had chanted Bible scriptures and hymns daily and up to the time she left us, had looked forward to the weekly music program provided at Fair Haven. 

Moreover, I have always admired my mother's ability to create wonderful recipes from unique ingredients. For years, I have tried many commercially produced goods, but nothing can compare to my mom's village-style bao and dumplings. 

These specialty items will be forever savored in my memories.

Nevertheless, one thing very few people knew about my mom was her love for desserts. She is the only person I know who can consume a 4 inch by 4-inch piece of cake right after a 10-course meal. She loved sugar on her bread and anything sweetjust like Mom. 

Aside from her children and grandchildren, she loved my Dad the most. Even in her later years when her vision was impaired, just hearing my dad's voice would make her laugh and smile. They shared true love for almost 70 years. I'm confident to say that most of us could only wish we had the opportunity to reach this milestone. 

If there is anything that describes my mom the best is how she had always put our family first. Over the years, I have tried to live by these standards  working hard, loving family, and accepting daily challenges as life experiences - and if I have succeeded, then I am truly grateful as these are the morals both my parents instilled in me.

Mom, today you are leaving us for Heaven. 

I know that both God and Dad are waiting for you at Heaven's Gates. 

I will always miss you and you will be forever in our hearts. 

I love you, Mom.

Shirley's Tribute to Mom

To my beloved Mother.from Shirley Teh
I thank God that He's blessed me with the best Mom ever in this world.    

My mom was very wise and had understood lots of things and sometimes these things can be vague in the 1950s.  

But one of the most important life lessons my mom has taught me is when it comes to giving, you should only give the best and never give things that you would never want for yourself.  

To this day, I still live by this rule. 
Being the eldest, I remember all my experiences and special times with Mom. I was born and had lived my earlier years in Hong Kong.  

As my father was working in Canada during this time, my mother played both the father and mother roles in our lives.  

I remember all her sacrifices, but more importantly all the special love she gave to my 2 younger sisters and me.   

She has always ranked us as a top priority and practically devoted all her time to us.  One of my favorite memories is our walks to school. 

Living on the outskirts of town, we had to walk more than 10 miles to and from school every day. To ensure our safety, my mom would walk the same distance with us, but returning home during our lessons  that's 20 miles a day without any complaints.  

Because of the distance, we had to start our day very early and by the time we returned home from school, it was quite late every evening.  

Although these walks were long and sometimes harsh due to the weather, these will always be the precious memories that I will forever treasure. As these were, also the special times we had with our Mom.   

When my mom was not taking care of us, she worked odd jobs to make ends meet. I remember my mom threading beautiful embroidery for sweaters and other assembly work. 

Sometimes she even allowed me to help. These special projects may have kept us up sometimes until the crack of dawn, but somehow it didn't matter as I was with Mom enjoying each other's company.    

Even after Mom and the 3 sisters immigrated to Canada, Mom continued to take on odd jobs to support us while experiencing new challenges.

Looking back, I wish I have had spent more time with Mom before her Dementia. Nonetheless, I am still grateful that God blessed us with her presence for 88 years.  

I am proud to say that I am the daughter of a super Mom. 

A Mom who had given us her undivided attention loved us more than anything in this world, made more sacrifices for us than I can count, and overall had lived her life with perseverance, and dedication.  

Mom, I am happy that you are now with Jesus and I look forward to seeing you again in Heaven.

Dear Eric & Anna,
My heartfelt condolences.
Your poem is very touching.
Love, Dianne

Mom,

For all the times that I forget to "thank you",
For all the special, little things you do,
For all the words that sometimes go unspoken,
I need to say, "I love you, Mom... I Do".

Mom, you made broken look beautiful and strong look invincible.
You walked with the universe on your shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings.

Mom, and, if at times, I may have seemed ungrateful,
I want to say, "I truly hope you see,
That nothing you have done has been forgotten, 
And day by day you mean more to me.

Your loving son, Eric.

OBITUARY

May Chung Quon

April 23, 1929 – January 18, 2018

Glenhaven Memorial Chapel

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