Person

Lee, Shui Him

• 李紹欽

• Happy

1916-1984

LEE Shui Him (later nicknamed Happy) arrived in Canada in August of 1916 at the age of 13.

He worked as a cook and spent a number of years as the Head Chef for the Executive Club on Howe Street, in Vancouver. He supported a wife and two sons in China: Ging Mo and Gin Git (aka Alan). After years living on his own, Shui Him took a second wife in Canada, but the marriage ended in divorce and there were no children from that union.

After repeal of the Exclusion Act, his first wife and eldest son Ging Mo decided not to join him in Canada, choosing instead to move to the U.S. The younger son, Gin Git, eventually came to Canada but the years of separation prevented father and son from ever becoming close.

Shui Him found an opportunity to play a bit of the father role through his close friendship with YEE Sing. When Yee was quite elderly, he was unable to work due to an injury. It was a stressful time as Yee Sing had only recently been reunited with his wife and young daughter, Grace, both of whom had immigrated from China in the early 1950s. So Shui Him took on some of the responsibility for helping the family by buying food and treats.

Shui Him became the children's godfather and especially loved to dote on his friend’s young daughter, Grace. She fondly recalls that one year, Shui Him gave her a transistor radio as a gift. Perhaps he was trying to compensate for the lack of connection and affection he had with his own children.

Years later, Grace would take in the elderly Shui Him and he would live with her until his death on August 1, 1984.

Description supplied by collector/curator