DR. ENG SEE (TOW WEE) CHEAM

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DR. ENG SEE (TOW WEE) CHEAM
January 10, 1934 - December 26, 2020

My father, Dr. Eng See (Tow Wee) Cheam peacefully passed away on December 26, 2020 at the Poseidon Personal Care Home in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Eng See is predeceased by his wife, Maria Assunta Cheam (Blino) and his daughter, Tat-Siang Licia Cortens (Cheam).
My father really enjoyed all of the staff who cared for him at Poseidon. His teases were those of affection and a way to show that he cared. Thank you to Rhonda, Eric and Sabitha at Poseidon and to the attending doctors for caring for him during his last couple of weeks, and for your much appreciated frequent updates. Thank you to Melissa who accommodated my short notice visitation.
My father was a very strong man, both in mind and will. He was a very tenacious man. Once he had a plan he would make whatever effort required to see it through to fruition. The lessons I take from him are having a strong will, discipline and a sense of duty. He was a determined man with "the buck stops here" attitude. He never viewed the events around him as excuses not to follow through with what he committed to. He looked inward to see what could be done to make things right.
His parents, Cheam Toon Fatt and Madame Wong Kut Siew emigrated from Muin Har Village, Hainan Island, China to Raub, Malaysia, then to Kuala Lipis, Malaysia. My father was born in Raub, Malaysia. As a child, my father remembered running barefoot through the streets of Kuala Lipis with his brother, Tow Heng and taking their large black dog for walks. His father, Toon Fatt, worked as a merchant for Cheam See Loo Brothers. His parents were very dedicated to Eng See's education. He grew up in a Buddhist family but science formed the core of his belief system. Later in life, he read about and appreciated Christianity and its lessons.
Eng See excelled in academics, sports and leadership. He was the captain of his field hockey team, won numerous scholastic awards, and received the Ralph Waldo Emerson prize for English and literature. He skipped a grade and gained three "double promotions", became the top scholar in his class, the school captain and head prefect. To this day, these double promotions are still his proudest accomplishments. As a gift for doing well in school, his parents gave him a black bicycle. It was his pride and joy, and he fondly remembered riding it barefoot. His parents only had money to send one of their sons to university and my father excelled at school, therefore he was the one they sent.
Eng See's education took him from Malaysia to the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in Dublin. From there, he went to London, England for his examinations. This is where he met my mother, Maria Assunta. Together, they moved to New Jersey, USA, to Italy (where Maria was born and raised), back to Malaysia, and then to The Pas, MB, Canada. Eng See became quite settled in The Pas. He really appreciated all of the caring and hardworking people he grew to know. Once he retired, he moved to Winnipeg to live with my mother, who was in Winnipeg for her cancer treatments. Fortunately, she survived stage three ovarian cancer. My sister, Tat-Siang, passed away from cancer in 2010.
Once retired, Eng See enjoyed trying to beat the computer at chess, reading historical books, and eating all of the Chinese food he could manage. He appreciated spending time with friends including the Ahwengs, Fouads, Espositos, Singhs, Shimizus, Campomanes, and his closest friend Dr. David Barnes when he could manage. These times together usually revolved around a huge Chinese supper with amazing aromas and colourful presentations. Along with my mother, he accepted my beautiful wife Gillian with sons Cameron and Calder and her warm and caring family, Ken, Christine, Mike and Mark into his life and shared with them our Kum Koon Garden feastings.
The above is commentary with excerpts taken from the biography "The Adventures of Dr. Cheam in Six Countries" by Gretchen Derige Cortens, his granddaughter -in-law.
My father was very pragmatic and it was not common to write about people's lives in an obituary, so below are the exact words and formatting of how he wanted this obituary to read. Being that Eng See was all about preparation, 20 years ago he pre-wrote his own obituary, gave me the CD with all of the email addresses and photographs including newspapers to notify in Canada and Malaysia.

So, here you go Papa. May you find peace with Mama, Tat-Siang, your brother and parents up there, here and all around us.
With love and light,
Your son Tat-Liang, Gillian,
Cameron and Calder

For those who wish to sign the online Guest Book please visit www.chapellawn.ca

Chapel Lawn Funeral Home
204-885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 02, 2021