Our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunty Lai Yiu Yu (余甄麗瑶) passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on March 3, 2024.

Born 99 years ago in Toishan, Guangdong, China, Mrs. Yu was the eldest of five children. A natural leader and aspiring scholar, Lai was among the top students in her school, leading her to become a teacher’s assistant. One day after leaving school, she caught the eye of a young man who would later become her beloved husband. In the span of 10 years, the happily married couple became the parents of four children (Raymond, Esperanza, Cindy, and Stella).

Life tested Lai time and time again - but through it all, she always persevered, reinventing herself to meet every challenge and every change head-on. As a shopkeeper in Hong Kong, she worked as a cashier, handling deliveries, taking orders with one hand on the phone, and the other hand using an abacus. She was intelligent and sharp, with an ability to learn things quickly and a work ethic that was unmatched.

Change kept coming: after 15 years as a shopkeeper in Hong Kong, Lai immigrated to Canada in the spring of 1968, following in her son’s footsteps. She arrived in Montreal, not speaking a word of French. But it would not be long until she found success and fulfilment, working as a seamstress in a garment factory and enjoying the arrival of her first grandchildren. This was perhaps her greatest role: becoming the matriarch of a growing family.

For the next 50 years of her life, she welcomed 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Her expressions of love were imbued in every woolly baby vest she knit, in every pot of soup she prepared, and in every hour spent comforting a sick or crying child. She was quick with a joke and quicker at winning mahjong games. Her homemade remedies and countless anecdotes of times past will be missed. But it gives us great comfort to know she is now resting in peace with her beloved husband, parents and sister.

She leaves behind her devoted son Raymond (Jean), and daughters Esperanza, Cindy (David), and Stella (Jayson). She was deeply loved by her grandchildren Janet (Steven), Amanda (Markus), Belinda (Chris), Shawn (Andrea), Edwin (Amy), Matthew, Michael (Ellen), Clarissa (Charlie), Sam, and Tim (Yeonsil), as well as her great-grandchildren Max, Ben, Matthias, Cameron, James, Sophie, Theo, Caroline, Kaiya, Ivy, Yoona, Jordan, and Noelle.

The family extends their gratitude to the countless PSW’s, nurses, and doctors on the sixth floor of Yee Hong Finch LTC, for their attentive care and compassion.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that a donation be made in Mrs Yu’s memory to the Yee Hong Foundation. Please visit https://www.yeehong.com/inmemoryof/lai-yiu-yu/