Born:
July 20,1909, the eldest child in a family of 3, in Bao-an County, Guangdong,
China
Beginning of a hard life:
"Sold" to the Wong family in Sandakan, Malaysia, at 14, under the enticement of
a good future promised by her future mother-in-law.
Education:
Nil
Marriage:
Sometime between 17 and 20, married Yun Choi, the eldest son of the Wong family.
Offspring:
Gave birth to 6 children. Some died as infants, while others died before
reaching; their teens because of the shortage of medical care and poor
nutrition. Only the youngest son, Tien-Sung, grew to adulthood. Later, she
adopted a daughter named Kyun Yin.
Working Experience:
Toiled for the Wong family under the high-handed control other parents-in-law
until the family of five sons became alienated. Her work included waking up at
4:00 a.m. everyday, rain or shine or tropical storm, collecting blood of
slaughtered animals from the abattoir for fertilizer and carrying hardwood posts
for fencing. She was also responsible for cutting grass for the family cattle
and loading and unloading firewood and rice which she would carry on her
shoulders to customers' kitchens. After she gained "independence", she worked as
a gardener for British colonial officials, as a road construction worker and
later joined a team of labourers in building the airport runway in Malaysia that
had been bombed during World War II.
Achievements:
Some were not easily noticeable - years of back-breaking contributions to her
big family with no reward or appreciation - while some were. Starting with
little after the four-hundred-dollar share she received following the division
of the family was stolen, she worked to accumulate enough savings to buy a
4-acre parcel of land in Sandakan, Malaysia, and built a 3-bedroom house. . .
Widowhood:
Her husband died when she was 33, four months before her son Tien-Sung was born.
Date of arrival in Canada:
April 26,1984, arriving and living with her family until the time of her death.
Passed away:
At 3:20 a-m. Oct. 28, 2004 at St. Michael's Hospital in the presence of her son,
daughter-in-law and grandchildren. She was 95.
