Wai Yin Shum

Dearest Mother, you haven’t gone away

You are forever in our hearts and minds

Enduring and powerful is a mother’s love

A treasure to cherish to the end of time

We will think of you as eternally young

Surrounded by laughter, serenity and bliss

In a place full of warmth and comfort

Graced by immortality’s gentle kiss

Our beloved mother, grandma and wife, Wai Yin Chan, was born in Toi San, Guangdong, China on March 26, 1936, but moved to Macau where she lived with her great aunt. She later traveled by herself to Hong Kong in search for a better life. It was in Hong Kong where she met her future husband, Chi Chan Shum. There they built a thriving textiles factory business together in Kowloon and their family quickly grew to seven children.

Still, Wai Yin and her husband longed for a better life for their family and made the difficult decision to pick up their family and emigrate in January 1975 to this wonderful city across the Pacific that they heard about called Vancouver.

It was a tough life. The mid seventies were marred by a world-wide recession with high unemployment and high interest rates.

Like many immigrants, they had to work hard to support their family in this new country. While her husband was working long nights, Wai Yin worked tirelessly at the cannery until she retired at the age of 65.

Over time, their family grew from seven children to include nine grandchildren and she enjoyed those moments in life where she was able to share her love of food with her family.

She especially loved lobster, crab, and sticky rice as well as the occasional filet o' fish from McDonald's. She was also known to have a sweet tooth and loved things like freshly ripe fruit such as mangos and golden plums.

But she didn't just love going out to eat. She was always cooking up a storm in the kitchen and preparing her special dishes that she made for the family. And typical of many mothers... it was almost impossible to get the correct recipes out of her because she never wrote things down or she just measured to taste.

Everyone had their own favourite dish that she made... from her lobster and crab on noodles in cream sauce to her soy sauce chicken wings or to her post-Thanksgiving turkey congee or her handmade loh bak gou and wu tau gou. Family dinners will never be the same without her cooking.

After retiring, Wai Yin lived a simple life and enjoyed watching Chinese opera on TV as well as The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune... although she was NOT happy when Pat Sajak was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. She also liked to travel with the family, going to places like Vegas, Disneyland, Banff, Whistler, cruising to Alaska and also going back to China.

Wai Yin’s greatest love and joy was always her family and all the kids and grandkids that would visit during birthdays and special occasions. Dim sum with grandchildren, feasting on lobster and crab, or preparing festive meals. The special ingredient was always the gathering of the entire family.

The Shum family tree embraces: Choi Ching, Fu (wife Amy and children Karina and Jamie), Kin (wife Winnie and children Wesley and Jodie), Choi Han, Choi Mei (children Stephanie, Jeffrey, and Jason), Choi Wa (husband Arthur and children Jennifer and Aaron) and Jackie (husband Rob).

Our mother and grandma will be greatly missed by those who knew her. She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

Rest in peace, Ah Ma. We all love you.