Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance at the visitation and funeral service is by invitation only however the funeral service will be livestreamed for public viewing on Saturday, February 13th, 2021 at 10 am. (a link will be available on Jack’s memorial page at 9 a.m.).

Family and friends are encouraged to leave condolence messages through Jack’s memorial page. Thank you for your understanding, kindness and support during this difficult time.

鍾植初的訃聞 (訃告)
鍾植初(字爾謀), 於2021年2月6日因腦膜炎於家人陪同下安詳离世, 享年76歲。他祖籍廣東新會, 出生於1944年7月15日 – 鍾功厚和黃雙寶之幼子。
當時祖國仍在抗日戰爭中。其後經歷國共內戰，解放, 抗美援朝, 令他和母親飽受飢餓苦难。和平後(二戰後), 他父親返回加拿大謀生, 兄長亦很快跟隨。他和母親相依為命, 過著艱難的生活。
他年輕時經歷上山下鄉的日子, 特別是1962年的大饑荒最為難忘。 他在1964年離開家鄉和挚愛的母親, 於澳門打拼了兩年, 於1966年秋天, 独自一人漂洋过海移民到加拿大, 而他母亲独自一人留在家鄉生活。
来到加拿大之初他一毛分文, 随后开始在厨房做學徒。之後和太太一起經營餐館, 歷時30余年之久。每天工作時間很長而辛苦, 他最遺憾的是没有時間陪同兒女而錯过那些快樂的時光。
他和妻子結婚40餘年經歷各種風風雨雨。於他晚年, 最開心的就是見到兒子成家立室。其次就是有幸認識到張老闆和他的太太以及其他員工。在過去八年的工作中, 張老闆的店就像他的第二個家一样, 張老闆和他甚至超越了老板和員工的关系, 和其他同事等同一個大家庭。
他留下了妻子, 三個兒女以及兒媳, 三個兒孫。
我們將永遠懷念你。


Jack’s Obituary – A Bitter Sweet Life

Jack Chor Jung passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 6, 2021 at the age of 76, surrounded by his immediate family. He passed away after falling ill to meningitis.

Of humble origins, Jack was born in Xinhui county of Guangdong province, China, on 15th July 1944, the third and youngest son of Gunghow Jung (father) and Song Boo Wong (mother). Born in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (World War II – Pacific theatre), he and his eldest brother managed to survive the war. Jack endured great hardship growing up in Postwar China. His dad and brother soon left for Canada, leaving behind him and his mother to tend to one another. As a youngster, Jack lived through the sufferings caused by the Chinese Civil War, the Communist takeover, and the various erratic political movements under Mao’s regime. The most memorable was the famine of 1962 in which he and his mother nearly died from starvation. His youth was marked by poverty, famine and lack of a basic education.

Seeking for a better life, Jack first took his chances in neighbouring Macau, leaving behind his beloved mother. After two years, in 1966, he got the opportunity to immigrate to Canada. Like most Chinese immigrants of the time, he arrived in Canada penniless. The challenges of making a living in a new country are immense, but Jack was not afraid and worked extremely hard to make it work. He started out as a trainee working in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant learning the art of cooking “Chinese-Canadian” food that would suit the Canadian palette. Soon after mastering his craft he proudly opened his first restaurant “Castle Dragon Restaurant” and began running the restaurant for the next 30 plus years. He was a chef that was known to give. Dishes were always piled up like a mountain and Jack enjoyed seeing his guests walking home full and happy.

Jack’s deep commitment to work did not in any way diminish in his retirement years. He helped out at a small neighbourhood restaurant as a way to share his passion for food. Jack lived and breathed every moment at this small restaurant, so much that it soon became his home away from home, and the colleagues there are akin to his own family. He soon found the kindred spirit in Papa Chang himself. A special thank you to the team at Papa Chang’s for your kind hearts and endless waves of support and care for him the past 8 years. The family is appreciative that he met such a good group of people to keep him company.

Apart from work, Jack loved traveling with his family and spent his free time gardening, playing with his grandchildren, and finding new foods for his family to try. Jack is survived by his wife of over 40 years, his son, daughter-in-law, two daughters, three grandchildren, and his eldest brother. Jack was a caring father, husband, grandfather, and a friend to everyone. He is not a man of words, but rather a man of action, and his memory will forever carry on.