Born in Macau, April 4, 1944, to Lee Sai Ming 李世明 and Lee Wong Kam Yuen 李黃錦圓, Matthew’s fondest childhood memories are of times with his brothers. He often reminisced about their grand mansion, Taishi Di (太使第, House of Court Historian in the Qing Dynasty) that sat along the shoreline of Praia Grande (Naam Waan 南灣) in Macau. He would describe the halls and courtyards of the house as a massive playground through which he would often ride his bike.
Matthew was especially proud of his lineage - his grandfather was a Scholar in China's Imperial Court during the Qing Dynasty and was recognized by the Last Emperor with the Imperial edict 聖旨. His grandfather and parents made significant contributions in the community and were benefactors to schools and charities. This inspired him to continue his family's legacy.
The family moved to Hong Kong in 1951 and soon after, he left for Australia in 1959 which he viewed as the beginning of his life-long love for travelling the world. Matthew attended Waverly College and had fond memories of his years in Sydney. He often spoke about memories with his brother James, summer days on Bondi Beach and experiencing the typical teenage antics. Next, he joined his brother, Luke, at secondary school at Lindisfarne College in Denbighshire, Wales, U.K. where he was called “President” by his fellow Chinese schoolmates for his generosity and helpfulness.
His love for travel took him around the world, “2.5 times” as he would say. Matthew often reminisced about his adventures in Saigon (during the Vietnam War), Egypt, Israel, Beirut, Kenya, Cape Town, Bombay, and his numerous adventures through U.K and Europe.
In 1964, Matthew packed his bags and headed for the “Great North,” Canada, which would become his home. His time at the University of Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, was the beginning of many wonderful life-long friendships. His friends affectionately called him, 肥仔, (fat boy), and still speak of his generosity and kindness. Matthew was a natural comedian and could make anyone laugh.
He breezed through school completing two University degrees, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Pharmacy. In 1971, he started his career as a pharmacist in New Brunswick, where he met Rita. Matthew has always maintained that he knew she was ‘the one’ when his car broke down one snowy night while on a date and she got out to push the car.
Rita and Matthew were married on July 13, 1974 in Toronto, where they would make their home and raise their three children. He was especially grateful to his brother Chris for flying from Hong Kong to be his best man. He appreciated the simple pleasures in life, like family time, meals with friends and being home for dinner with his kids, even if it meant racing home after a week-long business trip. He embraced the challenges of raising first-generation kids in Canada, and shared his love for travel with his family. He provided his family with an extraordinary life filled with exotic adventures – traveling across Europe, North & South America, Hong Kong and China.
Matthew’s work ethic was second to none and he was a respected pharmacist in his community and profoundly loyal to his employer. After a successful 40-year career he retired at 64. His retirement was coloured with more travel with Rita, from Petra to Christchurch, playdates with grandchildren and holidays with the family.
His friends describe him as a natural storyteller, easy-going, and selfless. Matthew proved on a daily basis that humility, graciousness and generosity, are values to live by. His parting words to his brothers and friends were, “It has been a privilege and an honour to have your friendship and memories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
After a long determined battle with COPD, he took his final breath in the early morning of June 26th. Matthew can now rest his tired breath and his memory and spirit will live through all of us. We will cherish all the times we had together, not just the good days and holidays but the ordinary days, too. Matthew believed that life experiences mattered more than material possessions and so lived an amazingly colourful life filled with love, joy and great times. Through these memories we know that he walks with us still.
A journey well-traveled. A life well lived. Forever in our hearts.
