My Auntie Gladys

I am one of Gladys' many nephews from the Li family in Hong Kong. I think I was only 7 or 8 when I first met Uncle Herschel and Auntie Gladys on their first visit to Hong Kong as a family with Eugene and William. Meeting my "gui lo" uncle, "gui pall" auntie and "gui chai" cousins ("gui" literally means "ghost", a common term in Cantonese to describe Caucasian foreigners because of the colour of their skin!) was an unforgettable event! I spoke very limited or if any English then. But right from the start, Auntie Gladys was friendly and showed a great interest in communicating with me, my brother Wing Him, and my cousins Bobby and Ivan. Being a good teacher, she had her object lesson all set to teach her nephews. There was a week or so when my uncle's family of four was crashing with my family of 5 in our 600 sq. ft. apartment on the 29th floor. I remember Gladys one morning decided to teach me and my brother to cook scramble eggs--my first ever cooking lesson! To this very day I still cook my eggs the way Gladys taught me.

In the last ten years Gladys took the initiative to reconnect with me and some others in my family. It was good to meet the proud mother of the grooms at Eugene's and William's weddings. She shown a great interest after learning that I was discerning a call to the priesthood. She was fascinated about the life of my late grandpa--his upbringing, his faith and the many stories grandpa used to love telling his grandchildren. On one of the more recent trips to Asia, she stopped by to visit my parents in Hong Kong. She met my colleague the late Fr. David Retter when he too was passing through Hong Kong on his way to visit our sister parish in Taichung, Taiwan. My dad offered them an adventure driving tour of the city. After the trip Gladys called me to tell me much how much she had enjoyed meeting my colleague. She was also very interested in learning my life as a newly ordained priest in Vancouver, Canada.

About a year and half ago I got a call from Gladys asking if I could help her identifying some Chinese documents written by my grandpa. I was quite moved when she told me that she was hoping to get these documents organized and perhaps translated for the sake of passing those stories and history to her grandchildren Stephanie, Teresa, Dakota Jane and Jason Thomas. She also shared with me her recent passion in researching the first ever Chinese typewriter invented by Yutung Lin. Talking to William last weekend, I was glad to learn that Gladys had completed both of these projects which were dear to her heart this past year.

I am grateful to have known Auntie Gladys however briefly in my life. The friendship she extended to a culture (and more than one culture) which was not her own will continue to live in her children, grandchildren and in the many lives she had touched.

In the words of her favourite Psalm 23:

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

May Gladys rest in peace. And may she go on living in her children, her family and her friends; in their hearts and minds, in their courage and their consciences. Amen.

Clarence Wing On Li