36. CHAN FAMILY

When I left Niagara Falls in 1971 and entered the broader world of bigger cities and university, I’d encountered mostly non-Chinese university students. It was not atypical to be asked if I was Chinese or Japanese. Since I was not studying in a program for medicine or dentistry, Asians were rare.

A few students inevitably asked, within our first couple minutes of introduction, if I knew so and so. It was not that the named person was famous, or also from Niagara Falls, but rather the named person (in their view) was Chinese.

Being the outward quiet, reserved young adult I was, I responded with a polite, “No. I did not know so and so.”

Inside though, smugness flickered as I thought about the naiveté of the inquirer.

Having said that, it was not just the inquirer’s own knowledge and experiences (seemingly, presuming Chinese by virtue of common ethnicity must all associate together) that were limited. Mine were equally, if not more, deficit but in a different way.

The inquirers were seeking to make connections and confirmation of what they knew about Chinese.
On the other hand, I was unaware of existing Chinese connections around me, even in a small place like Niagara Falls, even within the microcosm of a high school.


Richard Chan










For instance, RICHARD CHAN attended Niagara Falls Collegiate Vocational Institute (NFCVI) during the time my brother and I were there. At the Niagara Falls Ching Ming Festival last June, I met Richard Chan. He told me that detail, adding that everyone knew my family.
I am embarrassed to say I do not recall Richard Chan, or any other Chinese students at NFCVI. My vision and my focus were very myopic back then: a shortcoming I apologize for.




It is with thanks to Richard’s daughter, MICHELLE CHAN, their family story – a story I might have known sooner if I had been receptive and listening back then – is told.



Michelle’s great great grandfather was the first of their family to come to North America but he was killed while returning to family in China.

Her great grandfather GEORGE YEAN CHAN (b.1900, d.1983) came to Niagara Falls in the 1940s because he was offered a job as a chef at a Niagara Falls club. His wife, FUN MOON CHAN (b.1902, d.1979) arrived in 1958.

Their son, SAM CHAN, arrived in Canada in 1954 and his wife, SUSAN CHAN, joined him later in 1961. In Niagara, they raised three sons who, as adults, settled into careers elsewhere in Ontario as well as the United States.
Sam and Susan Chan are Michelle’s great uncle and great aunt.

When RICHARD CHAN, Michelle’s father immigrated in 1958, he spent most of his time with Sam and Susan Chan. Richard’s own parents immigrated some time in the early 60s and settled in Hamilton.

Michelle’s mother, JULIE CHAN, arrived in 1987.

In 1990, Michelle’s maternal grandmother joined her aunt and uncle when they came to Canada for work and post-secondary studies.

Richard and Julie have 2 other children in addition to Michelle.

Eldest brother STEVE CHAN is working in the Kitchener-Waterloo area as a technologist, and second brother DAVE CHAN works in the Greater Toronto Area in software. Meanwhile, Michelle resides in the Niagara region working in the television industry.


Family and history connect the Chans to Niagara Falls. Both George and Fun Moon are interred at Fairview Cemetery. Although Sam and Susan have recently relocated to the Toronto area, seeking a larger Chinese community to be part of as they age, they plan to be laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery, as do Richard and Julie when their time comes.


When the first of the Chan family came to Canada, it was to escape a life of persecution in China. While not necessarily finding life easy in Niagara Falls, it has been sufficiently welcoming that later generations came, raised families and stayed.

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