A Brief History

Eddy, eldest of her five children, soon arrived while dad was away in Vietnam. Dad returned a few years later and two more children (Roland and Martina) were born before they fled to Hong Kong again until the final move to Canada. The two youngest siblings (Ada and Paul) were born in Hong Kong. Mom had fond memories of the village Kee O where she grew up. She often talked about digging sweet potatoes in the fields, and combating sea waves in the ocean to harvest fresh oysters. She would reminisce about the family’s century-old home. In her advanced years, our conversations often revolved around the village and the family home.

In addition to the five children of her own, she often looked after Dad’s mother and our cousins. At the time, Hong Kong was seen as more desirable with more opportunities than mainland China. Thus Mom and Dad were entrusted with our cousins, to give them a better future. It was normal for Mom to have a household of nine kids plus our elderly grandma. Every day, she would plan, shop and feed the family, all within a limited budget. She often talked about how heavy groceries were and how busy the household was. Yet none of these stopped her from being involved in small ventures to provide more for her family. She ran a small roadside coffee shop, and sewed and picked up different odd jobs to make ends meet. We also moved around quite a bit in order to accommodate the growing family.

Eddy had the opportunity to immigrate to Canada in 1967, followed by Roland and Martina. Then in 1973, the entire family was reunited when Mom and Dad with the youngest two siblings joined them in Canada. With the family together, Dad retired as a school teacher and began to teach painting in Toronto. Mom helped out at Eddy’s restaurant, The House of Chung, and despite not knowing English, she was able to easily navigate the city. She regularly made the trip from Toronto to Eddy’s restaurant in Bolton or from Toronto to to Elmvale North of Barrie to visit her brother who runs a restaurant there!

Mom was a hard-working, strong, independent, determined, resourceful and vocal woman. She was the CEO of the household, a dedicated care-giver. Not only did she bring up her own five children but had a strong hand in bringing up many of her fourteen grandchildren. One could always rely on Mom for a good meal and babysitting. She was frugal to herself but forever generous with family and friends. Mom never minced words, you would always know her thoughts — whether you wanted to or not. She prided herself on being self-sufficient, often refusing assistance even when it was necessary. Many a time we heard of health workers being turned away by Mom.