Person

Mar, Beatrice

• Bornet, Toily
• Chan, Beatrice

1919-2001

Beatrice MAR was born on October 16, 1919, in Nanaimo, BC. Her father, MAR Shue (also known as Lung Kee BORNET) was born in Nanaimo as well, while her mother, Lee Shee, was born in China. Beatrice spent her early childhood with her parents, her brother Marshall, and younger sister Mary in Nanaimo’s Chinatown.

In 1931, Beatrice and her sister Mary moved with her great-grandmother Lung Kee Moon to Vancouver. They lived with Stanley Mah at 822 Jackson Avenue, near Chinatown.

As a young woman, Beatrice became a skilled seamstress and dressmaker. In the mid-1930s, she worked at the C. Kent garment factory in Vancouver. She moved to Victoria in 1938 to work as a seamstress at her aunt’s dressmaking shop. To earn her room and board in Victoria, she provided domestic help for a relative’s family.

In 1943, she moved back to Vancouver, and lived with her aunt May and uncle Lee White. She opened her own dressmaking shop—Miss B. Mar Dressmaker—at 867 Howe Street.

A year later, Beatrice married Dan S.J. Chan, a WWII veteran, on March 18, 1944. They bought a house together on East 19th Avenue. The couple had two sons: Randy (b. 1948) and Ryan (b. 1949).

Beatrice closed her dressmaking shop after her first son was born, but continued to work from home for a great number of loyal clients up until the early 1990s. She made all kinds of skirts, blouses, dresses, and suits for adults. For children, she sewed jackets, pants, skirts, and dresses. At one point, she even sewed every garment for a Vogue fashion show. She also kept the men in her family outfitted with suits and sports jackets.

In 1956, she and her husband purchased a home on Ash Street in Oakridge.

Her son Ryan remembers Beatrice as a dedicated, loving mother. "She was a very strong, independent, soft-spoken individual. Never known to raise her voice in anger. The family was always her first priority.”

Beatrice passed away in Vancouver on May 3, 2001.

Mar, Shu (1890-[1952])

Mar, Mary (1922-2020)

Chan, Dan Sir Jan (1917-1979)

Description supplied by collector/curator