So Chu

My father CHU SO was born in January 22, 1911 in a village in Xinhui, China.

He was a quiet, intelligent, intuitive and kind person by nature.

A self taught electrician, he worked for the Hong Kong tramway company before he was recruited and employed as the No. 1 Foreman and Head Electrician by the Hong Kong Victoria Peak Tramway. The Peak Tramway came into service in May, 1888 and was the first cable funicular in Asia. Throughout its long history, a visit to Victoria Peak via the Peak Tram has remained one of the most visited and photographed sights in Hong Kong with Victoria Harbour and the ever changing skyline below. And for me, a visit to the engine room was always a fascinating and exciting experience. Not to mention that every time I was treated with either a Carlsberg chocolate bar or a box of Smarties.

My father held the No. 1 Foreman position at the Peak Tramway for 30 years before he retired in 1973 and came to join the family in Vancouver shortly after his retirement. He passed away on Dec 30, 2011 at 3:35 pm peacefully at St. Paul Hospital in Vancouver.

Fish was my father’s favourite food and he always demonstrated his dexterity when it came to eating fish. I believe he was the most dexterous person, as I had never seen him knocked a glass of water off the table.

My father was a strong man physically and mentally, having endured 2 world wars in a less fortunate generation. And yet he was always kind, generous and never a demanding person. He always cares about me and his grand children. He taught us dignity, a quality that I'm sure he was proud to see our children have grown up with. He also exemplified work ethics and sense of responsibilities, and that brought honesty, integrity and accountability to our children. It is our goals to pass those characters into our future generations.

It has been very difficult and extremely devastated for me and my family to realize that he had indeed left us!

I want to thank each and every one of you for being so kind to share the grievance of our family.

I want to thank my step mom for her care for my father.

I want to thank my dear wife Ellen, and my children Angela, Darryl and Kevin, my son-in-law David, and daughter-in-law Yvonne for their support through this difficult time, and nothing more comforting than having our grandsons Max and Joshua around.

Have a good ride to Heaven,