Lilian Chung Lum

Chung Bo-Ping was born in Chinatown, Victoria, British Columbia Canada on October 7, 1923 to a merchant family of Cantonese immigrants. It was said she was premature and only perhaps 3 pounds at birth unlikely to survive, yet she did so and continued a life that spanned just a few weeks short of 102 years. Her father Chung Ham was owner of a tailoring shop while her mother Lan Siu ruled the "upstairs world" of their family including two maids.Later known as Lilian, Lily or Lil this young lady proved to be academically top-of-her class and also possessing excellent communications in both Chinese and English while enrolled in both Canadian and Chinese schools simultaneously. Lilian took leadership and responsiblities for her family seriously assisting her parents in talking with english-speaking Canadians and looking out for her younger siblings at all times, whether in school, on the playgrounds or on the streets which as an urban setting could be challenging. Lily continued on to the University of Victoria and then to the University of British Columbia where she graduated with honors in English. Her academic career did not stop there with her emmigrating to the United States to attend Stanford University where she received a double Masters in both English and French. At Stanford, she was introduced to a young local businessman named Charles Sang Lum, with similar experiences from a Cantonese working class background. They married and Charles founded a well respected floral business Lum Toy Florists which Lilian assisted as bookkeeper.
Soon they had sons Rodney and Mark and relocated to the nearby Town of Atherton in order to allow the two boys attend the outstanding Los Lomitas School district where Lilian had taught in her short career before marriage.
Lilian soon had their baby daughter Wendy, a blessed addition to their growing family. It was in this same house that they had architect planned and carefully built that Lilian and Charles raised their family over 60 years and that Lilian spent her final hours attended by her 3 children and her son-in-law Daniel Swords who Wendy met as a coworker at United Airlines, married and raised his daughter Crystal. Rodney married Kris Cheng from Hong Kong and gave Lilian a grandson adopted from China named Stafford. Mark has lived all his life with his dad and dear mom and became her closest companion when father Charles passed away. From youth to her final days Lilian made her family her life's work, but was also a dear friend, confidant to her siblings and role model to her younger relatives and others. Her life spanned many eras and the world of Chinatowns to elite universities to sophisticated San Francisco and its Bay Area towns. She was steadfast in her role as family matriarch, brave and courageous throughout her life in difficult times and was charming and enchanting to all, friend and strangers throughout her remarkable lifetime. She was greatly loved by all and will be sorely missed.

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