I'd like to ask that you spare a moment and a thought for my father-in-law. He passed away yesterday afternoon from respiratory failure.
He was a simple, unaffected man and we enjoyed each other's company, the family meals we shared, the drinks we sipped and the smokes we puffed. He appreciated life and enjoyed its quiet pleasures, and the company of friends.
He never for one moment treated me like I stole his daughter, my wife, away but instead welcomed and made me one of the family. He cared about me, loved me and my wife and I hold him in enormous regard and with deep love, despite being separated by distance and time zones.
His was an interesting life that spanned the Second World War; he fled the Cultural Revolution in China, saw Hong Kong's return to the PRC, and he moved to Toronto where he lived happily until his passing yesterday.
He would regale us with stories and insights and loved to reminisce. His mind was sharp till the end, and had recently returned from a month-long trip to Hong Kong and China. He raised his family with dignity and honor and was proud of every one of his children. He raised them well.
I will remember his tall, lanky frame, his shock of silver-white hair, his easy smile and throaty laugh. One moment in time stands out: a lunch on a freezing day in February this year. There were only four of us - my father-in-law, my wife and her sister, and I. My mother-in-law and others were busy. Throughout the lunch at the restaurant we were laughing, joking and eating well, it was relaxed and unhurried and we were happy to be in each other's company -- I now realize it was a truly happy, blissful moment for us. I will remember this.
And I will miss him.
Richard
He was a simple, unaffected man and we enjoyed each other's company, the family meals we shared, the drinks we sipped and the smokes we puffed. He appreciated life and enjoyed its quiet pleasures, and the company of friends.
He never for one moment treated me like I stole his daughter, my wife, away but instead welcomed and made me one of the family. He cared about me, loved me and my wife and I hold him in enormous regard and with deep love, despite being separated by distance and time zones.
His was an interesting life that spanned the Second World War; he fled the Cultural Revolution in China, saw Hong Kong's return to the PRC, and he moved to Toronto where he lived happily until his passing yesterday.
He would regale us with stories and insights and loved to reminisce. His mind was sharp till the end, and had recently returned from a month-long trip to Hong Kong and China. He raised his family with dignity and honor and was proud of every one of his children. He raised them well.
I will remember his tall, lanky frame, his shock of silver-white hair, his easy smile and throaty laugh. One moment in time stands out: a lunch on a freezing day in February this year. There were only four of us - my father-in-law, my wife and her sister, and I. My mother-in-law and others were busy. Throughout the lunch at the restaurant we were laughing, joking and eating well, it was relaxed and unhurried and we were happy to be in each other's company -- I now realize it was a truly happy, blissful moment for us. I will remember this.
And I will miss him.
Richard