Obituary of Ching Yuen (David) Leung 梁清遠

June 1, 1935 – Guangdong, China

September 7, 2023 – Calgary, Alberta

Mr. Ching Yuen Leung (David) was born to Mr. Ching Chek Leung and Miss Mai Yee in 1935 in Changsha, Kaiping, Guangdong.

David was the youngest among his siblings. He had two half-sisters and three half-brothers. His father got married at a very young age and then went to the Philippines to work, leaving David's mother at home. David's father was rich. He had land and had to hire workers to farm. As David's father was away from home for a long time, David lost father's love since childhood, but was very favored by his mother. His father was in the Philippines for many years and got married with another woman. David's mother was his principal wife.

After October 1949, lots of people were criticized and denounced in various places of the People's Republic of China. This movement continued for years. Some place earlier and some place later. People suffer a lot. Many were tortured to death, many were suicide. His family was regarded as affluent and was attacked. His mother sent him to Hong Kong by all means. He was about 16 then. People who were criticized and denounced suffered a lot because they were usually tortured. His mother, in order to avoid the torture, committed suicide by hanging herself in a tree in December 1953. She was only 53. David was greatly traumatized. After he arrived in Hong Kong, he lived with his grandmother. He worked in an office during the day and went to night school after work. Since he was a hard worker, his boss appreciated him and paid his tuition. Studying hard for many years he finally completed secondary school. His English was very good and he was number one in the class in composition every time. The teacher would ask him to read his composition aloud in front of his classmates for their reference. He was quiet, honest and friendly. He was self-effacing and did not argue with others. His neighbors and friends all said that he was a great man. He loved reading newspapers and magazines, and liked walking and traveling. He and his wife Yolanda had been to almost half the world, including places like eastern and western Canada, eastern, central and western US, Hawaii, Europe, the Soviet Union, China and Japan.

He got married with Miss Lee in 1969, giving birth to Donald (Donnie). Donnie's wife is Magdalena Koper, and they gave birth to two sons, Dante and Dorian, i.e. David’s grandsons. In July 1973, all the family immigrated to Calgary. His son Donnie is almost 2 years old. Mr. Ching Yuen Leung had been in Calgary until his death. After immigration, David’s first job in Canada was with Merck, a pharmaceutical company. He worked at Canada Revenue Agency for a while too. In 1980 he went to work at Canada post, until 2000 when he reached his retirement age of 65. He was divorced in 1986, and on September 5, 1987 he got married with Yolanda. He loved his wife very much and never complained. He was an amiable person. They had a fantastic marriage.

Unfortunately, good times don't last long. David got dementia in 2016 and was admitted to Greenview Assisted Living accommodation in 2019. And in mid-2023 he was transferred to the long-term care facility. In April 2023 a pastor administered sprinkling baptism on him. On August 25, 2023 he was admitted to the Peter Lougheed Hospital due to pneumonia, and he rested in peace on September 7, at the age of 88.

Ching Yuen “David” Leung, beloved husband of Yolanda Leung (nee Lam), of Calgary, AB, passed away on Thursday September 7, 2023, at the age of 88 years.

梁清遠先生(David) 是梁程焯先生和余薇女士的兒子，生於1935年廣東開平長沙。

他家中有兩個同父異母的姐姐，三個同父異母的兄長，他排行最細。父親很年青就結婚，婚後到菲律賓工作，留下他媽媽在家，他家境富裕，有田地，須請人耕種，因為父親長期不在家，他從小失去父愛，但甚得母親寵愛，父親在菲律賓多年，其後再婚，梁清遠的母親是正室。

在1949年10月以後，中華人民共和國裏，在不同的地方，有很多人受到批判和折磨，這種情況連續多年，有些地方早些發生，有些地方遲些，很多人因受折磨而死，也很多人自殺而死。他家被認為是財主，受到攻擊，他母親用盡辦法將他送往香港，當時約16歲。他母親為了避免別人批鬥之苦，在1953年12月在樹上懸吊自盡，那時只有53歲，因此他心靈受到極大的創傷。他到達香港之後，與祖母同住，日間在洋行工作，晚上讀書，因他為人勤力，被老闆賞識，替他交學費，苦讀多年，終完成中學課程。他的英文甚佳，每次作文名列前茅(第一），教師會叫他讀出作品給同學參考。他為人沉默寡言、誠實友善、樸實不華、不與人爭拗，鄰居和朋友都稱他為好好先生。他喜愛閱讀報紙和雜誌，也喜愛步行及旅行。曾和Yolanda 到過的地方包括加拿大東部、西部； 美國東部、中部、西部；夏威夷；還有歐洲、蘇聯、中國、日本等各國，可算是足跡遍滿了半個地球。

1969年與李女士結婚，婚後育有一子Donald (Donnie)，媳婦 Magdalena Koper，孫兒Dante及Dorian。在1973年7月，David 全家移民卡加里，他的兒子當時約兩歲，David住在卡加里，直至一生終結。移民後他第一份工是在Merk藥廠，亦曾在政府稅務部門工作一段時間。1980年轉到加拿大郵政局工作，直到2000年，65歲時退休。1986年離婚，1987 年9月5日與Yolanda結婚，他很愛護妻子，從不投訴，平易近人，生活美滿。

但好景不常，David 於2016年患上認知能力障礙症，2019年入住翠景輔助護理，2023年中遷到長期護理，2023年4月接受灑水禮，同年8月25日因肺炎入了Peter Lougheed醫院，於9月7日安息主懷，享年88歲。