Wai Ching (Lily) Chan – July 21, 1935 to February 2, 2021

A Lily was born and reached for the
light in the sky. She took the warmth
of the sun and placed it into the hearts
of all those who surrounded her.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Wai Ching (Lily) Chan of natural causes at Mississauga Hospital on February 2, 2021.

Born on July 21, 1935 in Guangdong Province, China, she immigrated to Toronto after marrying Kee York Chan in 1954. Both were hard working individuals and had an intuitive sense for business. The couple quickly carved a comfortable and successful life in their new Canadian home. After settling down for a couple of years, they started a family.

Wai Ching was a pillar of the Chinese community in Toronto and had many friends. Up until the lock-down, she traveled across Canada and the US often and enjoyed going out for dim sum, dinners, banquets, playing mah-jong, and talking on the phone with her friends. These friendships helped keep her young, joyful, and lively. She cultivated many friendships during her time with the Chinese Canadian Women’s Association of Toronto, where she was an executive for many decades. Through her volunteer work with the Association, she was fundamental in bringing financial support to those in need, and Chinese cultural performances to Toronto’s Asian community.

Highly skilled in so many ways, Wai Ching above all was a talented cook and seamstress. She loved to host large gatherings for friends and family, and would produce dish after delicious dish. It brought her great joy to provide for everyone in her life. And if you needed to have a dress made in a day or two, she was able to do that with ease.

Always the entrepreneur, Wai Ching opened several successful businesses including a hand laundry, garment factories, several restaurants and an exporting business. She was never shy about travelling to new places to start her ventures, from Toronto, to Montreal, to New York City.

Predeceased by her husband Kee York Chan, and her second husband Sik Fang (Frank) Chin. She is survived by her eldest son David and his wife Angela, her daughter Janet and husband Bill Ing, and her son Vincent and his partner Philip Dennis. Wai Ching was a loving grandmother to Devlin and wife Sarah, Vanessa, Amanda (Ing), and Brandon (Ing). She also leaves behind her two beautiful great-grandchildren, Rico and Isabelle, who she deeply cherished in her later years. She will be dearly missed by all.

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at the Trillium Hospitals in Mississauga for the attentive and dignified care they provided.