Ming York Chew

York passed away peacefully February 9th, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The love, admiration and respect of family and friends near and far held him in his final days.

Chew Ming York was born in 1932, Lunar Calendar February 27, in Enping, Guangdong Province, China, and immigrated to “Gold Mountain”, Canada, in 1954. He always said he loved his Mother Country but he was one to never look back, only forwards: he was a very proud Canadian.

He came from very humble beginnings and through perseverance, hard work and intelligence, became a very successful and highly regarded business man and citizen in Duncan, British Columbia. He was a well-respected teacher who set many science school curriculums in China. He held education as the most noble pursuit and he passed this onto his children. His own wish was to become a medical doctor, his No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 child achieved this. He utilized what he had, his innate artistic talent and the ability to create with his hands, to design and build the Yorktown Inn “Empire”, which influenced his No. 2 to become an architect and public artist. His dedication to his community fueled his contributions as a member of the Lions Club, Principal of the Duncan Chinese School, and founder of the Yorktown Inn educational scholarship.

He could not have done any of this without his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful Ying. They were married, as he says in his memoirs, “a-half modern way,” by choosing each other instead of traditional matchmaking. York and Ying eschewed Chinese tradition and celebrated their union with a Cantonese opera performance in a makeshift outdoor theater in their small village. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event and many neighbours from surrounding villages attended.

His children and grandchildren promised to take care of their mother and grandmother. Ying, 91, resides at Youville Residence – we are sure she is as beautiful today as she was when our father first met her. We thank everyone at Youville for making our father feel part of their family in his daily visits to Ying.

York inscribed his love, experience, and wisdom in his memoirs, “A Son of Gold Mountain (Life of Chew Ming York).” As he says, “I value this memoir more than all assets I have…you can never make or buy the story, experiences and understandings of your parents, and the history of your ancestors.” We are forever grateful for this invaluable gift of story and history. His memoirs can be found in the collections of the Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives and Overseas Chinese Museum in Beijing.

York is survived by his wife of 71 years, Ying Bing Chew, née Leung; his children: Emily (Robert), Nancy (Lance), Hall (Elvira), and Ben (Julia); his eleven grandchildren and their partners and 2 great grandchildren.

The family is grateful for the compassionate and meticulous care given to him by outstanding physicians, nurses and their teams. Thank you to Dr. Anita Fu for her steadfast care and to Dr. Tom Elliott at BC Diabetes and Dr. Heather Gilley for shepherding our father through his late onset illness. Special thanks to the whole Urology department at VGH for managing his cancer, which was kept at bay for a very long time due to their attention and diligence. Deep gratitude to Dr. Martin Gleave, Dr. David Harriman, Dr. Christopher Nguan, Dr. Ryan Paterson, and Dr. Peter Black for their excellent and skilful medical care.

A virtual memorial will be held on February 27th, 2022 at 10:00AM PST via Zoom via this URL: https://bit.ly/3JrBj9K

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of York Chew to further the cutting-edge research at the Department of Urologic Sciences through the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. You can donate online at http://join.vghfoundation.ca/yorkchew or by calling 604-875-4676 or mail to VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation (190-855 West 12th Ave. Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9). Please make a note that your gift is in memory of York Chew.

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Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hamiltonharronfunerals.com for the CHEW family.