We are here to pay tribute to Zhu Chu-Chen, whom passed away on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at the age of 90 (based on official record). He was surrounded by his lovely wife Cam, their eight children and the spouses, and nine grandchildren.

Zhu was born in Vietnam to Chinese parents. Based on Chinese Zodiac, he was in fact born in 1933, the year of the Rooster. He became a husband in 1964 and a father the year after.

As a father, Zhu was committed to work and fatherhood, ensuring that his eight children were fed, healthy, and educated. He had an abundance of energy and motivation when it came to work and would find business opportunities to make a living for his family. He was an account manager of a construction company. But he also did blueprint printing at home after regular working hours.

After 1975, Zhu went through difficult times when the South Vietnamese government collapsed forcing millions to make immediate changes in their lives. He was required to make changes and difficult decisions to feed and support his family. During this time, his twin girls were still infants and the youngest child was about to be born. But he managed to do everything he could during this desperate time. He thankfully landed a job, where he coordinated and bought supplies for a chemical company. He would get up early in the morning to deliver food supplies that were then served to the workers. Ever the caring father, he occasionally brought his three youngest children with him to work. They vividly remember playing at the company’s lawn and stopping by the shipping port to sightseeing and eating barbecue squid, while he was negotiating for fresh food supplies. However, his regular job couldn't support the entire family. Therefore, with the help of his wife and the older children, he found other opportunities such as processing and grinding coffee beans to sell to kiosks and restaurants.

In 1984, Zhu was fortunate and thankful to have his youngest sister Hao sponsoring the whole family to Canada, with the assistants of Hao’s departed friend, Tom Mills and the Convent Sisters. For him, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for his children to have an education and success in their lives. He immediately got to work without hesitation on legal documents and passports according to Hao’s instructions. The family arrived Newfoundland, Canada the year after.

For Zhu and his family, starting a new life in Canada was not easy. He started by working in restaurants soon after; while his wife worked in a Catholic Church Convent. Again, he had a business mindset and aimed to be successful. He learned how to grow bean sprouts from mung beans. This side business was demanding as he did everything with some family help including production, cleaning, packaging, and delivering. He later found a housekeeping job in a hospital.

Throughout Zhu’s life, his perseverance and actions have shown that family is first and he never complained about hardships despite arriving in a new country, engaging in odd jobs to make ends meet.

Zhu’s unconditional love and support encouraged his children to have the confidence to move to Toronto, finding opportunities for themselves. The family managed to their first house in Newfoundland, while the children finished their education, found a job, and got married. His hard work had finally paid off. Even during his retirement, he was busy driving his car, picking up grandchildren from school, going out to eat, and getting groceries.

Zhu would check his notebook for special events and birthdays. He bought his children mooncakes during the festival, and handed out red envelopes for his grandchildren's birthdays. During Christmas, his thoughtfulness was displayed when he asked for assistance to write cards and gifted chocolate and fruit baskets for all.

Zhu will always be remembered as a caring and responsible hard working father.

Zhu was the second child, and he had three siblings. The late eldest sister, Kiem Co, and her family live in Australia. The late second sister, Kim Nuong, and her family live in America. The youngest sister, Tien Hao, and her family live in Canada.

Zhu and his wife Cam have eight children and nine grandchildren:
1. Michael with his wife Wenying and two children Jackie and Alice
2. Lisa
3. Eric with his wife Julia and two daughters Alison and Kathy
4. Amy
5. Jun
6. Jessica with her husband Stephen and two children Daniel and Tiffany
7. Michelle with her partner Wesley, she has a daughter Katelyn
8. Kevin with his wife Honglei and two daughters Emily and Emma