It is with deep sorrow to bid farewell to Aaron who will be sorely missed. He was such a gentle & kind hearted gentleman who leaves us with a lot of fond memories. 

Aaron was brought to this world under typhoon “Wendy” (Signal  10) on September 1, 1962. He was the 3rd in the family with 2 elder sisters & 1 younger brother. He has deep relation with the younger brother  sharing common interest in playing model cars evolving to driving cars as they grow up. 

He spent his childhood days in DBS. Aaron was an active sports athlete enjoying fencing and especially hurdles representing DBS in various school competitions.

He went to Canada in 1980 to attend high school and then move on to University of Guelph graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Hotel & Food Administration.  During his University days, he also represented the University in Ontario’s provincial hurdle competition with great results. 

After returning to HK, he joined the New World Hotel Group as a management trainee, spending various years in Renaissance HK Harbour View Hotel and New World Hotel.  He acted as General Manager for Two Macdonnell Road Apartment Hotels for 20 years before he retired in 2016. He developed amiable relationship with the hotel clients, especially the matured ones who regard the hotel as home. 

Aaron has a daughter Caitlyn who means the world to him. They shared so many memorable moments together, watching TV, playing with the dog and travelling to so many countries on different activities. 

After retirement, Aaron continues to share his management experiences with young employees of various industries on career counselling which was well appreciated by all.

Pursuant to the first diagnosis of tongue cancer in 2009 with major surgery, he has been clean for 7 years. Unfortunately, in mid 2016, he was relapsed with cancer for 3 times undergoing various radiotherapy, target, chemotherapy treatment sessions & surgeries, etc. continuously. 

Aaron was a strong fighter for 4.5 years. In his 5 months of hospitalization, hospital nurses & our private nurses all found him such a nice, warm and gentle person and all gave him very detailed attentive care. 

Meanwhile, so many friends & relatives constantly prayed for him over an extensive period which eventually touched him. He was baptized in his final days in hospital and left it in the hands of God to take him to  a nicer place in heaven. 

Aaron, we will all miss you dearly but are confident you will be in the good hands of God.

 

 

Eulogies

Good morning, First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming to celebrate the life of my father. Being honest, If he had known that so many of you turned out today, he probably would’ve gotten a little awkward and overwhelmed by this gathering, so thank you for coming. More so, I would like to wholeheartedly thank my father’s two older sisters, Yvonne and Irene, who have honestly and abidingly given everything in them and more to support, nurture, and comfort my dad over the past 5 years. From what I’ve known about my father’s childhood is that he grew up in a loving home, with a big family. Much of his youth revolved around family, and his few yet strong passions in life included sports — hurdling, high jump, volleyball, and fencing, as most of you that knew him are probably familiar with. He loved music, mixing music; he loved Formula 1 racing, especially Lewis Hamilton, and he also loved film. My father was fiercely devoted to his friends, his job, and most importantly, his family. My father was many things, and among all, he was an absolute fighter. Though he knew pain and suffering in a way most of us are blessed to have never endured, he never allowed that to undercut the selflessness and sacrifice he gave so willingly to others. Growing up as a little girl, I often asked him to tell me stories about when he was younger. Almost every story he told me was about a certain competition he had won, a record he had broken, or a story from his boarding school days in Canada. I never understood why, that every single time he repeated such similar stories over and over again. But it was only until I was older, when I realised how plainly yet passionate he was about those commitments. My dad was known to be a simple, lowkey, yet observant and analytical person — an absolute minimalist. He was the one that taught me best about how the simplicity of things was usually enough and perhaps better in life. He might’ve even come off as a quiet, conservative individual, with still a strong sense of humor. But I think that he was quite the contrast to the way he portrayed himself: he was nevertheless an emotionally- and empathy-driven person, in the most subtle way. He was the father who would put on a Disney t-shirt to carry my toddler self around the house because he knew I liked Disney; he was the father who would leave work meetings to watch my ballet classes and then leave quietly, just to not disturb me; he was the father who learned how to download all of Taylor Swift’s songs to his car just so he could drive me around with my favorite songs playing in the background. He was also the father who never expected me to change anything about myself, and instead, he was one of the few people that made me feel the most valued as a person and as a woman. He also demonstrated the same subtle love to everyone around him. He was the friend who went out of his way to help others, while still fearing to be of inconvenience to his friends, family, and colleagues; He was the alumnus who coached and mentored diocesan athletes generations after his own; He was also the patient who memorized the names of every single nurse who treated him over the years. With such discrete exhibits of this love, to the average person, one would easily overlook his acts of kindness. But knowing him, he was absolutely okay with that and he was more than satisfied with going above and beyond for the sake of others. This is one of his characteristics that I look up most to. He captured the essence of what it means to be honourable, to be realistic in the best way possible, where he didn’t continually strive for more, as if what he had wasn’t already enough. He taught me that respect and politeness transcend beliefs, upbringing, and differences in opinion. He also looked for the good in each person, and he usually found it. My dad makes up of who I am. Being a mere spectator of his struggles over the last third of my life, and seeing how much grit and desire he had to battle cancer, everything I want to pursue in life, and who I want to become is because of him. I would hope that everyone, as you remember who my dad was, that each of you truly take care of yourselves and appreciate the frugal, simple details in life. And what better way to honor my dad, than to follow this trait of his he demonstrated so well. And for Dad, Just as you love me, I have as well and always will love you, but it is God that has always loved you, even before you knew, and that is okay. You have leaped over the last hurdle of this race, and I hope you know now that God has waited for you and the end of each and every finish line you’ve ever crossed, especially this one. He has waited for you all this time to choose him; so, as you move forward towards Heaven, you have nothing to look back on, only forwards to God. Despite the unresolved wisdom, experiences, and time spent with you, I am only starting to grow the perspective to learn and appreciate who you fully were, and I will spend the rest of my life doing so. In the meantime, enjoy Heaven as you reunite once again with your parents and brother, and the rest of us will catch up to you soon.

 

Love, Caitlyn

Aaron伯伯是一個我很尊敬的長輩，從小到大，在我眼中他都是一個很威嚴但非常愛護小朋友的親人。當然，除了小朋友，他對身邊的人都很好。每次去到有認識他的地方，每個人都一致認為他為人很有要求，很有禮貌，對每一個人都很有心。

他不但是一個好人，還是一個運動健將。他跑跨欄、跳高都非常厲害，但從來都不會在外吹噓自己的成就，很多事情我都是從其他Uncle們裏得知的。我出來工作後洽巧認識到他一些舊同學，各人都稱讚他以前無論在DBS或者加拿大都贏到不少奬項。

我自己本身對車很有興趣，很大原因是受伯伯和我爸爸影響的。從小開始，伯伯每次買新車都會帶我去試車。有時候吃過晚飯後便會帶我遊車河；有時候接朋友都會帶我一起去。記得他最喜歡單門車，每次接朋友總會叫我躲在前座驚嚇上車的朋友。雖然那時候我年紀很小，但這些回憶我還記得好清楚。

當我表哥到外國升學，伯伯靜俏俏地帶了表哥入他房間，那時候我很好奇什麼時候會到我。待我去澳洲升學的時候，即使我們已不是同住，他也找機會跟我聊天。雖然大部份內容我已記不清楚，但是有一句我是不會忘記的：濟民，記得去到外國要識得保護自己，要享受大學生活。那一天我感覺到伯伯認為我長大了。

近年我工作忙碌，每次伯伯有一些關於車的問題都會致電給我，或者約我出去。最後一次陪他出外是去Showroom看車。那次，一進去便見到一架我找了很久跟我部車一樣的模型車，頓時雙眼發光再查看Sales可否售賣。當我想付款時，發現伯伯原來已靜悄悄地付了錢送給我。我真的很感動，到現在那輛模型車還放在我的床頭。

最後，雖然我很掛念他，但我沒有特別不開心。因為我知道這幾年他很辛苦，終於可以休息一下，也終於可以再見到我爸爸，一個他最好的兄弟和朋友。

伯伯，再見。

 

Marcus

早晨，首先感謝各位來臨送別我舅父最後一程。今日除了代表自己，亦代表我弟弟妹妹同大家分享我們對 Aaron舅父的感受。

記得小時候我便已經很喜歡模仿Aaron舅父，我覺得舅父很有型。簡簡單單一件白色 T-shirt，黑色track suit，再配襯一架黑色MR2。這便是最讓我印象深刻的他。

以前我經常希望將來可以像他一樣，但當我長大後發現其實他吸引之處不單單是他的外表，而是他的幽默感和他待人處事的態度。

他説話不多，但每一件可能很平凡沒甚麼特別的事經由他說出來都可以很好笑。我認識的他永遠都會將所有事情以不會麻煩到人為大前提。他外表很像很嚴肅，但其實他對每一個人都非常非常好，尤其是對我及我的表兄弟姊妹。

我記得小時候經常會被家人責備，很多時Aaron舅父都會聲援，盡量替我擋下一些子彈，又或者事後會找我聊天，每一次他都不需要多説便足以令我展露笑容。

我知道他亦很喜歡跟年青人交流，無論是工作上的後輩，還是他常去的餐廳招呼他的年青人。每一位他都會很用心去了解他們的背景，為著甚麼前途而煩惱，再以一個朋友身份和他們分享自己的看法。

他很多為人處事的態度都深深影響著我。

最近兩年，Aaron舅父很多時都會找個地方享受他的一杯茶，就這樣坐一個下午。我和其他兄弟姊妹都經常會找他聊天，聊的內容什麼都有，包括時事、車、Formula One等，更會提及到他以前讀書的點滴。

我認為他一生人中最值得驕傲和開心有兩件事。第一件就是他跨欄的成就，特別在一個未有那麼多華人在加拿大的年代，跑贏了很多外國人，贏過不少獎項，為華人增光！另外，令他最開心的第二件事就是有了我表妹 Caitlyn在他的生命中出現。雖然 Aaron舅父已經離開了我們，可以為他做的事情已經不多，不過唯一可以做的就是希望他知道這裡會有一眾他的家人去照顧Caitlyn，確保她生活安穩和開心。

最後，我在這裏希望 Aaron舅父不會再飽受到任何痛苦，可以快樂地在天國安息。

 

Alisdair

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