Person

Wong Shee (wife of Goon Ling Dang)

• 黃氏
• 阮黃氏

• Mrs. Goon Ling Dang

1891-1977

Wong Shee, wife of GOON Ling Dang, was born of the Wong clan sometime in June 1891 in a small hamlet in [新寧 Sunning / Xinning]. The area would later be known as Toisan/Taishan.

Not much is known about her youth, but she was previously married, giving birth to her first son, CHIN Chuck Wing, in 1911, becoming widowed at a young age. After many years, at the age of 30, she embarked on the steamer, the Empress of Russia, in 1922 for a new husband and a new life. She left her son, Chuck Wing, behind in China.

Her new husband, GOON Ling Dang, was a prominent merchant, contractor, and cannery owner. He also ran a general store between Canton and Shanghai Alley called Jun Kee Co. His first marriage had been to Jennie Wah Chong (1872-1921) who was one of the first Chinese to attend school in Vancouver. Jennie’s parents owned and operated Wah Chong Washing & Ironing; a portrait of the family in front of the business (with Jennie on the far left) is in the photograph collection of the City of Vancouver Archives, included to help fill gaps in the visual record of the city.

Unbeknownst to Wong Shee, Ling Dang was 33 years her senior. According to numerous relatives, “apparently she 'wanted to run' when she saw how old he was.” Her husband had two children, Tyson and Pearl, from his previous marriage. She would bare him 5 more children: Emily (b. 1923), Lily (b. 1924), Rose (b. 1926), Mary (b. 1927), and Susie (b. 1929). Concurrently, Wong Shee supported the growing family, holding various jobs through the years. She worked at a fish cannery, sack factory, Chinese sausage factory, and on a farm, where she hand-picked peas, beans and tomatoes.

In 1937, the elderly Mr. Goon remarked to The Vancouver Sun on the great many of his friends and neighbours who had now passed away or departed. By 1940, he was by some accounts one of the oldest Chinese-born residents of Vancouver. In 1946, the family had saved enough money to move from Canton Alley to a home on 746 East Pender Street in Strathcona because the Canton Alley/Shanghai Alley land was being expropriated by the city, so all residents had to move. Soon after, in 1952, Wong Shee was widowed once more.

With the end of Chinese Exclusion in 1947, Wong Shee at last was able to sponsor her son, Chuck Wing, to come to Canada, though their reunion was cut short, with Chuck Wing passing away in 1959. Wong Shee took comfort and pride in her garden, growing squash, green beans, and snow peas.

After she retired, when the Chau Luen Tower was built in 1973, Wong Shee was among the first to select a suite on account of her husband; he was a former Vice-President of the Chinese Empire Reform Association. Her grandchildren remember her for her nian gao (Chinese New Year cake), homemade clothes, and elaborately hand-embroidered slippers with flowers and lace. “When I think of what a grandma looks like, I picture my grandmother in her round spectacles, white wavy hair, thick knee high stockings, long skirt, knitted sweaters, and always had a smile for her grandkids!” In her old age, she still had strong hands, smashing peanut shells and cockroaches alike! After moving to the apartment, she still continued to garden, bussing to a different daughter’s home on weekdays to tend the plots and beds. Wong Shee died in 1977, much beloved by her children and grandchildren.

Wah Chong, Jennie (1872-1921)

Goon, Pearl (1910-1999)

Description supplied by the collector/curator