<div itemprop="description">Tak-Ming Lee <br>11 May, 1928 – 16 September, 2024 <br> <br>Tak-Ming Lee was born in Panyu, Guangdong, China on June 28, 1928 (Chinese calendar: May 11, 1928), and was better known to his family and friends as Baba, YehYeh, GungGung, Tai-Yeh, Tai-Gung, Lai Bat. He went peacefully to his eternal rest in the early hours of September 16, 2024 at the age of 96. <br> <br>He was the loving father of five children; Peter (Virginia) of Calgary; Maisie (Donald) of Toronto; Kai (Kam) of Montréal; Fred (Josephine) of Calgary; and Mona (Fenton) of Ottawa. Cherished grandfather and great-grandfather of his 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; Samuel (June – Elliot and Elizabeth) of Melbourne, Australia; Janice (Miles - Io) of San Francisco, USA; Paul of Ottawa; Brian (Chantal – Charlotte, Eleanor and Henry) of Ajax; Sungtai (Linda – Chloë) of Montréal; Michelle (John) of York, England; Gloria (Nathanael – Norah, Judah and Theodore) of Edmonton; Joshua of Calgary; Christopher (Lindsay – Rhys and Caia) of Toronto; Wing Yine (Jérémie - new baby) of Montréal; Grace of Calgary; and Finnegan of Ottawa. He also leaves behind his loving and caring spouse Xie Zhongyin of Montréal; and his seven brothers and sisters (5 predeceased), and his numerous nieces and nephews, who are spread across the world. He was predeceased by our mother in 2023. <br> <br>Dad was born into a family of eight children in China, but circumstances were such that a landowner couple adopted him and he did arduous farmwork. At the age of 14 he left for Hong Kong, an absolutely foreign world to him, to start building a new life while keeping in close contact with his birth family. Dad was always very curious and adventurous, and he especially loved trying new things and travelling. He visited 13 countries/cities across Europe, which is more than most of us have done. He also toured Taiwan and China with a “restaurant chefs” group, where they were hosted by their respective counterparts and treated to amazing food. <br> <br>Dad’s openness towards learning made him a Jack-of-all-trades later on in his life. He trained and apprenticed in electroplating and Chinese herbal medicine. He worked as a salesman, buyer, foreman, and entrepreneur. He operated his electroplating business during the after hours in a factory with gold and silver scraps from a jewelry store. He also toiled long days as the sole-proprietor and operator of a taxi service. In all of these professions, dad demonstrated fierce loyalty and integrity, which built trust and respect from anyone who interacted with him. <br> <br>In 1952, he was one of 14 founding members of the Shang Sin Chung Tong in Hong Kong, a Daoist and Buddhist philanthropic religious organization. Dad reminisced with great fondness and joy in the organization’s achievements, such as its flourishing membership and expansion to numerous locations; taking every opportunity he could to return to his roots. He was looking forward to attending the organization’s 70th anniversary celebrations in 2022, but a combination of the pandemic and his declining health made it impossible to realize that trip. <br> <br>Both our parents’ families were split between China and Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1941. Despite being separated, our parents’ grandmothers were friends from the same village back in Dongguan, China, and they hatched a plan for an arranged marriage and our mom would join our dad in Hong Kong. As one can imagine, there were challenges in bringing together two complete strangers. It took dad almost three months to come to grips with his situation and only then did he start speaking to mom. As time passed, our parents added to their family three sons and one daughter in Hong Kong. The last child, a daughter, would join the family in Canada. <br> <br>In 1974, the family immigrated to Canada, putting down roots in Montréal. With his limited French/English language skills, dad worked as a line cook in a hotel restaurant until its doors were shuttered. He then took odd jobs that would take him away from his family weeks at a time, in various Chinese restaurants in small towns across Quebec. However, he made lifelong friends that he kept in touch with until the end. They organized trips together and gathered on a weekly basis to catch-up over dim sum. Dad always loved being around family and was a big kid at heart who enjoyed a good laugh. He would almost never say no to a fun activity with family, whether it be going down a thrilling waterpark ride or camping at Two Jack Lake in Banff National Park with some of his grandchildren. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by his family and friends. <br> <br>Family and friends are invited to come together for a celebration of life at the Rideau Funeral Home, 4275 Sources Boulevard, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC, H9B 2A6 on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. This will be followed by the internment at the cemetery on the same site at 12:00 p.m. <br> <br>We would also like to extend a special thank you to all the nurses, doctors and staff of the Mount Sinai Hospital who took care of dad during his last days. We especially want to acknowledge Dr. Sophie Ménard for her excellent care over the years as his family doctor. <br> <br>In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged. Cash donations will be accepted at the funeral home for the Canada Shin Yat Tong Moral Society. Alternatively, online donations can be made to the Montréal Chinese Hospital Foundation (www.mchfoundation.ca). Please specify in the comment section that your “donation is made in memory of Mr. Tak-Ming LEE”.</div>
