Obituary of Jack (Wai Ping) Wong

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Jack Wai Ping Wong passed away peacefully at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, SK on December 13, 2022, at the age of 87, surrounded by his family. Born in 1935 in Guangzhou city in Guangdong province, China, Wai Ping was the oldest of eight children. After the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1947, Wai Ping immigrated to Canada in the early 1950s thanks to his paternal grandfather’s sponsorship. Like many new Chinese immigrants of that era, he settled in a small town outside of Edmonton, AB where he quickly began working, picking up English along the way, and adopted the name “Jack,” by which we all know him today. Upon his grandfather’s passing, Jack began traveling across North America, working various jobs in restaurants to support his family in China, eventually settling in Boston, MA.
In 1971 after years of toil and sacrifice, Jack was successful in sponsoring his family’s immigration to Canada where they settled in Fredericton, NB. The reunion was short lived and soon Jack returned to Boston to continue working to support his newly arrived parents and siblings. By 1972, Jack’s mission was complete, and it was finally time to start a family of his own.
As luck would have it, a distant cousin introduced Jack to Kathy, her classmate in Bruno, SK. Thus began a long distance relationship that lasted three years until they were married in early 1975, with Jack and Kathy eventually settling in Saskatoon and having their first child, Diana. Soon thereafter, Jack turned his efforts towards helping his wife Kathy bring her own family to Canada from China by working day and night at two different jobs to financially support this move. In 1976, the young couple opened a small convenience store in Saskatoon with Jack managing the store during the day and waitering in restaurants in the evening. By 1982, Jack and Kathy moved to Martensville, SK where they opened a restaurant with Jack continuing to work tirelessly.  Shortly thereafter, Michael was born in 1983 and Peter in 1985. Their family was complete.
As with restaurant life, there wasn’t always time for rest, but anyone who knew Jack would attest that he could never turn down a good game of mahjong! An introspective individual, he enjoyed reading his TIME magazines, listening to Chinese opera, watching National Geographic, and playing the harmonica. He especially enjoyed his garden, fishing, and chatting with his customers at the restaurant and friends he chanced to meet at the casino. Always a hardworking, selfless and humble man who never complained, Jack continued to work in the restaurant for the next 40 years until the very end. Jack spent his life in dedication to his family and he will forever be missed.
Left to mourn his passing are his wife, Kathy; his children Diana (Warren) of Toronto, ON and his grandchildren Emily, Chloe and Hailey; his two sons, Michael (Crystal) of Saskatoon, SK and Peter of Victoria; his sister Wong See Chee of Hong Kong and her children; his brother David (Shan Mei Ling) of Toronto, ON and their children; and his brother Wayne also of Toronto, ON. Jack was predeceased by his mother Ngan Ping Ngo, his stepmother Hau Yin Tam  and father Ting Dok Wong. We invite everyone who knew Jack to join us in celebrating his life. There will be a viewing on Thursday, December 22, 2022 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM at Saskatoon Funeral Home, 338 4th Ave North. The funeral service will take place on Friday, December 23, 2022, at 2:00 pm. followed by the interment at Woodlawn Cemetery.

黃慰平於 2022 年 12 月 13 日在薩斯卡通皇家大學醫院，在家人的陪伴下安詳離世，享年 87 歲。1935 年，慰平出生於中國廣東省廣州市，是八個孩子中的老大。1947年《排華法案》廢除後，慰平在祖父的資助下於1950年代初移居加拿大。和那個時代的許多新華人移民一樣，他定居在艾伯塔省埃德蒙頓郊外的一個小鎮，並很快找到了一份工作。與此同時，他開始從日常生活中學習英語，起了我們今天所熟知的名字“Jack ”。祖父去世後，黃慰平開始遊歷北美。他曾擔任餐廳服務員，並在餐飲業從事其他工作。他最終定居在馬薩諸塞州波士頓。
1971 年，經過多年的辛勞和犧牲，黃慰平成功地資助了家人移民加拿大，並在新罕布什爾州弗雷德里克頓定居。然而，重聚是短暫的，黃慰平很快便回到波士頓繼續工作，以支持剛來此定居的父母和兄弟姐妹。1972 年，黃慰平的使命已經完成，終於到了組建自己家庭的時間了。
幸運的是，一位遠房表親將其在斯堪納維亞布魯諾的同學王振英介紹給了黃慰平。由此，他們開始了一段持續了三年的異地戀，直至 1975 年初結婚。黃慰平和王振英最終在薩斯卡通定居並生下了他們的第一個孩子黃韻清 (Diana) 此後不久，黃慰平將全部精力轉向幫助妻子王振英的家人從中國移居至加拿大。為了經濟上給予更多的支持，他日以繼夜地從事兩份工作。1976年，這對年輕夫婦在薩斯卡通開了一家小便利店，黃慰平白天管理便利店，晚上便在餐廳當服務員。1982 年，黃慰平和王振英搬到了斯堪納維亞的馬滕斯維爾，並在那裡開了一家餐館, 他日以繼夜地從事兩份工作。伴隨著1983 年黃澤明(Michael) 的出生，以及1985 年黃深明 (Peter) 的降臨，這個家終於組建完整。
雖然經營餐廳忙碌無休，但認識黃慰平的人都知道，他永遠不會拒絕打一局好麻將！作為一個內向的人，他喜歡閱讀《時代》雜誌、聽中國歌劇、看《國家地理》和吹口琴。他特別鐘愛他的花園、釣魚，喜歡在餐廳與顧客攀談，在賭場與偶遇朋友聊天。黃慰平一直是一個勤奮、無私和謙遜的人，從不抱怨。在之後的 40 年間，他一直在餐廳工作，直到生命的盡頭。 黃慰平一生都在為家人奉獻，我們將永遠懷念他。
現在黃慰平終可與他母親敖顏萍、繼母譚巧賢、和父親黃廷鐸在天家重聚. 我們為他的離世深感哀傷. 遺孀王振英, 與來自安大略省多倫多市的女兒黃韻清（麥和倫）及其孫女麥心靈、麥心頤和麥心希；來自薩斯卡通的兒子黃澤明和來自維多利亞的兒子黃深明；來自香港的妹妹黃思慈及其子女；來自安大略省多倫多市的弟弟黃浩年、弟婦单美玲及其子女；來自安大略省多倫多的弟弟黃慧年 為他離世深感悲傷。