It is of great sadness to announce the peaceful passing of Wan Chow Chung (蔣運就) at the age of one hundred, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She leaves behind ten children, twenty-two grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. For close to a century she has been the Giving tree that sheltered the Chung family through good times and bad. She will be deeply missed by us all. As an appreciation for her love and as a celebration of her life of resilience and dedication, we are honored to share her life story.

Wan Chow Chung (蔣運就) was born in 1923 to a family of farmers in the village of Humen, China (虎門). She was the daughter of Hung Wai Chang (蔣雄威) and Sui Dang (鄧笑) and had two sisters Ling Tai Chang (蔣蓮娣), Sui Fong Chang（蔣瑞芳) and a younger brother Gou Chang（蔣高）who is still alive to this day. She later settled in Hong Kong along with her sisters not long before the Japanese invasion in 1941. The three year and eight month occupation were hard times for the city, with her late husband recounting the story of being beaten by soldiers for not showing ‘proper respect’. There were also food shortages, forced labour and murders by the occupiers throughout the period.

Wan Chow Chung survived the occupation and was married to So Chung (鍾蘇) in 1942. They would remain married for 57 years until his passing in 1999. She gave birth to her first child Anmy Lai Kwan (鍾麗裙) in 1943 and throughout her life she was blessed with a total of 10 children (Sau Fong鍾秀芳, Chi Wing鍾志榮, Shui Lan鍾少蘭, Josephine Lai Hing鍾麗卿, Pui Kwan鍾培鈞, Mabel Woon Mui鍾煥梅, Charles Kwok Fong鍾國晃, Charlene Yuk Ho鍾玉好 and Winifred Wai Lin鍾惠蓮). In addition to household chores, she was tasked to take care of the family business of a Chinese joss/incense paper store (生益紙扎舖). Her life in Hong Kong was never smooth sailing, but she continued on with perseverance and care nevertheless.

Along with her husband and some of her children, she settled in Canada in 1983. Her unwavering commitment to her family continued as she cared for her grandchildren until well into her 70s. She then spent the remainder of her life living with her second son. She was energetic and lived her life to the fullest. She would spend her time going swimming in the local pool everyday, either by walking or taking a bus, even in the winter; and she would go to the mall to meet up with her friends for coffee and exchange stories and laughter.

Throughout her life she had shown unwavering love and loyalty for her family. We are truly blessed and grateful to have been under her shade.

The Chung family is directing any donations towards the Trillium Health Partners Foundation at https://www.trilliumgiving.ca/