Victoria Hayley (Hui-Chuan Tung)

HAYLEY—It is with great sadness that we announce that Victoria (Hui-Chuan Tung) died on October 22, 2017 in Victoria, B.C.  She was predeceased by her father, Tung, Shun-Tu, and her mother-in-law, Dorothea Hayley, and is survived by her loving husband, Rod, and their five-year old son, Stephen, who will always miss and adore his beautiful Mommy; and by her devoted step-children, Dorothea and Edmund; by Jean Hayley, their mother and our good friend; and by her sisters-in-law, Audrey; Susan (Mike) and Pam (Cliff), and their children.  She will also be much missed by her Taiwanese family:  her mother, Tung, Yeh-Chun; her older brothers and sister; Tung, Hsueh-Lung (Chen, Ju-Ying); Tung, Hsueh Min (Yu, Pi-Hsia); Tung, Hui-Mei (Chu, Wan Sheng); and her nephews and nieces—Tung, Chuan; Tung, Chen; Tung, Chung-Hsuan; Tung, Chung-Kai; Tung, Chung-Hung; Chu, Jau-Li (Kim, Youngeun); and Tung, I-wen (Li, Kuang-Han).  Several of Victoria’s family members came on numerous occasions to Canada to help Victoria through her illness.  Rod’s sister, Audrey, and his niece, Christine Kemp, with her lovely family, visited with us from Ontario during Victoria’s illness; they also sent numerous messages of encouragement.  Special thanks as well to Victoria’s sister, Hui-Mei who nursed Victoria with much love and tenderness through her final days.   Xie-xie ni!

Victoria was a talented painter and visual/graphic designer educated and trained in Taipei and Tokyo.  At a young age, she became Director of Art in a large Japanese advertising company.  With a desire for more challenges and new experiences, she came to Canada where she taught art to prepare students for college and university entry.  She met Rod because she wanted to improve her English and he wanted to learn Chinese.  Their intense efforts to teach each other were, alas, less than successful but they did manage to fall in love!

Throughout her brave and unyielding battle against a brutal cancer, Victoria was at all times vibrant, life-affirming, and considerate of others.  To the end, she remained a devoted and nurturing wife, a wonderful mother, and a loyal and inspiring friend to many, including those who were facing similar life challenges.  Victoria saw only beauty in the world, and that inspired others around her.

Sincere thanks are extended by Victoria’s family to the wonderful medical staff at the BC Cancer Agency, in both Victoria and Vancouver, and in particular to Dr. McGhie, who headed up a team that treated Victoria creatively and compassionately.  Thanks as well to Victoria’s family physician, Dr. Norris, the emergency first responders, the emergency staff at Royal Jubilee Hospital and Victoria General Hospital, as well as the VGH 7^th floor doctors, the many kind nurses, our helpful and humane social worker, Susan, and other kind staff members.  In particular, sincere thanks to Dr. Milne, Dr. Ming, and Ms. Hong, a medical student who went well beyond the call of duty to assist Victoria and Rod at a time of great need.  Sincere thanks also to Rod’s cousin, Cdr. John Macquarrie, RCN (ret.), and his wife Judy; as Victoria’s priest, John ministered with gentle kindness to Victoria in her final moments.  Many other good friends gave love and support throughout Victoria’s long day’s journey into night, including Rod’s extremely generous work colleagues and clients, our wonderful neighbours (you know who you are!), Stephen’s very thoughtful principal and teacher at Lochside Elementary School; Stephen’s much loved first teacher, Leassa, at Cordova Bay Preschool; other caring patients at the BCCA, who shared ideas, recipes, and strategies with Victoria; the faithful team of volunteers at the Cancer DriveLine, and many others whose efforts on our behalf and encouraging words are so much appreciated.

There will be a Celebration of Victoria’s Life at a date to be set for next summer.  Further details will be provided in due course.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
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