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Mah Poy, Gale
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Dates of existence
1923-2020
History
Gale MAH POY was born July 28, 1923. He was the son of restaurant owner, Mah Poy Sing (also known as James Mah Poy) who ran the Union Café in Ponoka, Alberta. Gale was one of six children born to James and his wife Liang Shi.
When WWII broke out, Gale tried to enlist in the Navy. However, he received a letter stating "at this time we don't allow Chinese to serve alongside white men on His Majesty's Canadian Ships. We thank you for your patriotism and hope you'll contribute to the war effort in other ways." He would go on to be an Army Reservist.
Over his lifetime, Gale worked across many different sectors. He had jobs in the restaurant industry, a car dealership, he drove a school bus, and worked in retail. He once was also a projectionist in a movie theatre in Rocky Mountain House.
After meeting his wife Evelyn (nee Stenback), Gale took a job with BC Ferries and stayed there for 20 years working his way up to second steward.
Gale loved to fish and take trips to the casino and to Hawaii. Even as a senior citizen, he continued to chop wood to heat his home. He was proud of his piles of firewood.
His relatives recall that "Gale was very proud to have performed a speedboat ramp jump which he loved to talk about. He was presented a trophy from the Coronation Fire Brigade for performing the first boat ramp jump in Alberta (possibly in Canada) in 1956, in Coronation, AB. He was president of the Coronation boating club at the time."
Gale passed away April 11, 2020 in Nanaimo, B.C.
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