Obituary of Christine Ooi

Christine Ooi of Yorkton, beloved wife of Richard Ooi passed away on November 30, 2017 at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre. She was 69 years of age. Christine Mayyou Ooi (nee Seetho) was born in Butterworth, Malaysia on September 12, 1948. In 1954 she moved with her family to Penang, Malaysia, an island famous as a resort with pristine, beautiful tropical beaches. She was the youngest of seven children born to See Toh Hong and Madam Kung Ah Hoy. She completed her high school education (Grade 13) in Malaysia, and went onto the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In 1971, she emmigrated to Canada where she completed her B.Sc. Degree at the University of Toronto in 1974. She then completed her education degree at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg in 1975. Then while teaching fulltime, she enrolled on a part-time summer program for five summers at the University of British Columbia and obtained her masters degree in education in 1990. Christine has served as a teacher for more than 30 years. She taught in Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan (LaRonge, Yorkton, Saltcoats, Ebenezer, Rhein, Bredenbury and Shoal Lake). Christine was a very hardworking, artistic and creative teacher, often putting long hours at schools she taught. She created, produced and directed several drama productions and dances at her schools. She loved drawing and painting, creative writing and poetry. She was proficient in four languages - English, Chinese, Malay and Indonesian and also managed to learn some basic French. She retired from teaching in July 2003 and enjoyed travelling, reading, writing, painting, music, gardening and growing flowers. At one point, Christine had over 50 rose bushes, 100 varieties of lilies, 24 peony bushes in her front and backyard. She derived tremendous pleasure from the sight of her flowers blooming galore. She said their beauty and smell is a touch of Heaven on earth. She'll always remember the wonderful smell of jasmine, Queen of the Night, frangipanis, lilac and tropical roses. She'll always remember the joy of running wild under the big frangipani tree, picking the frangipanis that dropped to the ground. Or the glory of her Rose of China and Thunderchild crabapple in majestic bloom….Christine loved travelling. She had been all over Canada and the United States and visited many countries overseas, including Japan, Hawaii, Alaska, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, India, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Indonesia. It was her desire to visit as many of the world's natural and ancient wonders as she can. Christine is kind, generous and compassionate, always willing to help out relatives and friends in financial distress. She participated in many charitable works such as Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, Covenant House, World Vision, Children's Christian Fund, the Canadian, American and Malaysian Red Cross, as well as the RBC My Daily Bread programs. Christine met and married Richard Ooi in Toronto in 1977 and were blessed with two sons, Vincent Paul and Riley Michael. She was predeceased by her parents, her beloved son Vincent, her second and fifth brother See Toh Teik and a nephew Howard Si Thoo. Christine leaves to cherish her memory, her husband Richard and her son Riley of Yorkton; her brothers, Chin Si Thoo (Swee Chin) of Winnipeg, Seng See Toh (Siew Ching) of Winnipeg, Meng Si Toe (Sooi Han) of Malaysia and her sister Soo Hong Ngok (Teh Kok Liang) of Malaysia; also 29 nieces and nephews. A Prayer Vigil was held on Monday, December 4, 2017 at St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church in Yorkton with Mary Bybliw leading in prayer. Lorraine Lysak accompanied St. Gerard's Choir in singing the hymns. The lector was Carol Deters. The Funeral Mass was held on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church with Rev. Fr. Louis Kim Nuygen as the Celebrant. Diana Hornung accompanied the choir in the singing of the hymns. The lectors were Rita Rodney and Debbie Hayward. The cross bearer was Dean DePape and the Prayers of The Faithful were led by Scott Hoffort. The interment followed in the Garden of Gethsemane at Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Wayne Exner, Henry Kweens, Jeff Krasowski, Rejean Houle, Con Rodney and Trevor Baker serving as the casket bearers. Memorials in memory of Christine may be made to St. Gerard's Church or a Charity of Choice. Service Information Monday, December 4th, 2017 7:00pm, St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church Tuesday, December 5th, 2017 11:00am, St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church Interment Details Yorkton Memorial Gardens