Obituary of CHOOI YOONG LEONG

Chooi passed away on the 8th of April, during the pink moon of 2020. She died in the same way she lived the 75 years of her life, peacefully and with a smile. Chooi was an extraordinary person. She was someone who did small and large things with great love and kindness. She brought joy to all of her family, friends and anyone lucky enough to cross her path. To her grandchildren, she was their favourite playmate and babysitter. Her visits were a source of happiness, from the moment she arrived with suitcases bulging with toys, to the tasty foods she made for them (pancakes, fried rice, curry chicken), the hours of games and reading. Chooi was also a trusted friend and helper, forever generous with her time, money, and positive energy. Thanks to her smartphone, she unfailingly kept in touch with friends and family around the world. She sent out so many joke videos one year that her eldest grandchild said “We’ll have to change her name from Grandma to Spam-ma”. She was at home anywhere and everywhere, whether it was roughing it at a campsite or lounging in a luxury hotel (though we suspect she preferred the hotel). One of the things she exemplified was never to be afraid of trying something new. She proved it when she started the Shaun T Insanity workouts and went kayaking for the first time, in her 70s. She was just as happy pottering around the garden pulling weeds as she was taking an international flight. In truth, Chooi was a travel cyborg. With all her children living in different parts of the world, she had endless energy at her age to travel and cross several time zones to visit them. She could whip from the domestic to the international terminals of MacDonald-Cartier, Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, or KLIA without ruffling her hair or lipstick. Once she fell ill for a few days, but did not complain when we asked how she was. It turned out that her appendix had burst, and she needed emergency surgery. The doctor stared at her in awe during the diagnosis. In September 2018, at the age of 74, she travelled solo to visit Budapest, a city where she did not know anyone or speak the language. In early August 2019, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In September, after bravely undergoing awake brain surgery in the hopes of removing the tumor, the doctors confirmed that it was grade IV glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive types of brain tumours. Chooi fearlessly underwent radiation and chemotherapy but in December found out that the tumour did not respond to treatment. Despite losing the hair on half of her head, she happily showed off her “stylish new haircut”. In late January 2020, she was very weak and had lost much of her speaking vocabulary. We asked her: “Are you afraid of death?” She popped up in her bed and her eyes sparkled. Using drawings, Google maps, and the words that she could still muster, she described her vision of death. She was standing on top of a high and windy hilltop overlooking the sea. On the path below her, she saw her family and loved ones standing on a grassy edge, waving to her, with the blue sea in the background. “You all were smiling at me and looked so happy,” she said. “There was only happiness around me. I called out goodbye, and then I moved upwards and further away, and all of you, the hillside, the sea, and the earth, became smaller and smaller until it was all just a dot”. After that, she sank back on her pillow and smiled. “I’m so glad you asked me. I’ve been wanting to tell someone for a long time.” She will forever be cherished by her three daughers (Karen, Jessie, and Janet), her son (Leslie), her daughter-in-law Maria, son-in-law Achim, and grandkids, Alexander, Gabriel and Lia. We will all miss her deeply and can only hope to follow the path she has tread: to act out of kindness, cast aside the sadnesses of the past, and embrace the sunny side of life. We sincerely thank you for the many messages that we’ve already received. In spite of her loss of speech in the final months, Chooi’s memory remained intact right up to the end, and she often spoke of all her friends and family. So if you have any memories or stories you’d like to share, we would love to hear from you. Donations Instead of flowers or gifts, we would appreciate it if you could make a donation to the following charities in honour of Chooi: Hospice Care Ottawa: https://www.hospicecareottawa.ca/donate.html Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada: https://www.braintumour.ca/ways-to-give/