LO, Siu Fong Chan - Passed away on April 20, 2020.
Siu Fong Lo (née Chan) was born in Hong Kong on April 4, 1932. Her father was Chung Hoi Chan, a native of Shunde who worked at The Mercantile Bank in Hong Kong (part of HSBC since 1959), and her mother was Yee Ho Ng, also originally from Shunde.
Siu Fong was born seventh of 12 children and grew up during the Second World War. In her teen years, she contracted tuberculosis and convalesced in Tai Po in suburban Hong Kong, where she met nun and MBE Chi Cheung Sik, the founder of renowned Buddhist Tai Kwong Primary and Secondary School.
Siu Fong had many admirers, as she was a beautiful woman with alabaster skin and a svelte silhouette. At the same time, she was a gifted student, excelling at Chinese and mathematics, and wrote poetry as a pastime. She always believed that education was the key to a successful future and she dedicated her entire life to teaching. After completing high school at Hong Kong Ling Ying Secondary School, she obtained tertiary training in education.
She worked at Buddhist Tai Kwong and taught primary level Chinese and mathematics. She was eventually promoted to vice-principal, a post she maintained until resigning from the school in 1975, upon emigration to Canada. Along with her teaching duties, Siu Fong was a Girl Scout Leader and inspired many young ladies with her guidance.
Despite her gentle as plum blossom demeanor, Siu Fong could be a tough cookie. She was clever with money and a shrewd mahjong player—a trait she shared with her father and sisters. In the 1960s, she parlayed her teaching income into payment for a newly constructed condominium in Tai Po, which she rented out until eventually selling it. She assisted her sisters with their university educations financially, and was always generous if friends or family needed help.
Wing Cheung Lo was her childhood sweetheart—her first and only love. The couple grew up playing together alongside Wing Cheung’s sisters. Yet she was also committed to her sisters and brothers, and she deferred marriage until the age of 29 and children until the age of 35, in order to concentrate on her career.
After giving birth to Rebecca, Sally and James, the Lo family moved to Toronto in 1975, where Siu Fong was a housewife for the first few years. After James started school, she found a part-time job as a clerk working for Wells Fargo so that she could continue to take care of her children while maintaining her independence. In her spare time, she nurtured students through volunteer work with Chinese-Canadian heritage organizations. She sat on the boards of several community-based educational committees, including one with Lap Chee Tsui, the former Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong. She made frequent trips to Hong Kong to visit family and maintain lifelong connections with friends. She retired from Wells Fargo in the mid- 1990s, and enjoyed dim sum, reading newspapers and travel during her golden years.
Siu Fong passed away on April 20, 2020 at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto due to complications arising from COVID-19. Her passing follows the death of Wing Cheung by only four days. She is survived by daughters Rebecca and Sally, and son James. She leaves behind beauty, laughter and a thirst for learning in all the students that she touched throughout her long career as a teacher, mentor and friend.
A private cremation will be held on Thursday April 23, 2020.
We wish her joy in being reunited with her beloved Wing Cheung, and rest after eight decades of devotion to family and all those she considered her friends.
In lieu of flowers, the Lo family suggests that you consider making a donation to one of the following organizations: Cham Shan Buddhist Temple www.en.chamshantemple.org, Mon Sheong Foundation (D’arcy Street location) www.monsheong.org, and Woodgreen Community Services www.woodgreen.org.
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