Our beloved father, Khiem passed away peacefully on Wednesday December 9th, 2020 in his 79th year. Khiem Ngo, husband of Quynh Ngo (Diep), was born in Vietnam on May 17, 1941. He is survived by wife Quynh and their two children and their spouses Nina (Claude), Linda (Xam) and cherished grandchildren Jade, Etha, Angelina and Philip. Khiem was the second born of six siblings and is also survived by four siblings (Tin Nghiep, Hong Nghiep, Ngoc Anh, and Ngoc Quynh).
The family would like to thank all our friends and relatives for their thoughtfulness and support.
A service will be held for Khiem Ngo on Saturday, December 19th, 2020 at 12:00 pm for the immediate family. The service will also be electronically streamed for our extended family and friends at video.ibm.com/channel/s5CHH26bSXz
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.
A little bit about Khiem…
Born as the eldest son, not the eldest child, he carried the burden that he would be in charge of the entire family and would be the decision maker for everyone. That’s just the way it was. He doesn’t know how not to be in charge or be the one to take care of everyone else. In a time and a culture where boys were revered, he had two girls. He loved us unconditionally and never made us feel less worthy because we were girls. He played with us, listened to us and protected us.
When he shouldered the burden and the stress of having to leave our home country (not by choice), he made smart and wise decisions that would give his girls the best opportunities in life. He and mom went hungry to make sure that our bellies where full. They went without to make sure that we were never without.
He was generous. No matter what, when his siblings called, he came running. Whether it was money, time, or just a helping hand, he gave what he had.
He was hard working. He never took anything for granted and worked as much as they would allow him. Even with limited English, he was always able to find work because he would do anything to make sure that we would always have food on the table. He was never unemployed. We came to Canada with just the clothes on our backs and in one year, he bought our first home for us. In less than 10 years, we were mortgage free.
He was so brave. He battled two cancers, three strokes and a whole host of other ailments. With his first cancer, he worked for as long as he could and returned to work immediately after his last chemo treatment. We believed that he carried this burden for all of us too as each and everyone of us are healthy and well. Even when he’s not well, all he worries about is our well being. When he had to move to a nursing home, he asked friends and family to look in on mom regularly to make sure that she never had to eat alone or would be lonely.
He loved his grandchildren so and he’s so proud of them. If he could wallpaper all the walls with pictures of his grandchildren, he would. He would give them the world if he could.
He was smart (spoke 4 languages), resilient and resourceful. He loved to learn and he was always able to figure things out.
He’s a fighter and boy did he fight hard. Even when he didn’t want to fight any longer, instinctively, he’s body kept fighting on.
Today we are sad and we are happy. We are sad because we will miss his presence and his guidance. We are happy because he is once again himself. For certain he’s dancing right now, he’s eating his favourite stewed pork belly dish and enjoying a glass of fine cognac. He’s also driving again and likely making plans to have dim sum with his mom, dad, older sister and friends who went before him. Best of all, he’s smiling and laughing again.
….We will always miss you dad. Rest now and be free.
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Wednesday December 9th 2020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Khiem Ngo Wednesday December 9th 2020..
Décès pour la Ville:Markham, Province: Ontario