On Coming Home

We buried our grandfather today. He passed away unexpectedly last week, leaving us sorting through shock, sifting through grief, and clutching at memories.

What breaks my heart is that I’d just started working on a project to document my family history. My other grandparents passed away before or shortly after I was born and with my grandfather being a man of few words, I’d never really thought to ask.

It was only last month that I set up a Zoom interview with my grandfather where I asked him all sorts of questions about his life. I guess I had felt a gnawing feeling that time was running out. I guess I was right.

Just as I’d started to untangle the knots, now I’m left grasping at air. While I’m devastated that he won’t be able to see out this project, I’m so grateful that I had the chance to have that conversation with him before he left and I know his legacy will continue through his story.

Talk to your living ancestors.

Unearth the stories of how they moved mountains,

Sliced through oceans and sideways stares.

And know that the same strength lies in you.

My Grandfather’s ancestral home in Guangdong, China.

Lang-Anh Huynh was born in Tai Po County in Guangdong, China in 1930. He left home at the age of 16 and emigrated to Saigon, Vietnam where he would go on to start a family and build a successful business.

When the communists took over, he lost everything and was briefly imprisoned.

After several failed attempts to leave, he spent the last of his fortune to put his entire family on a rickety boat and set sail. After nine days, they made it to Hong Kong — one of the lucky ones.

They would stay in a refugee camp until getting sponsored to come to Ottawa under Project 4000, an Ottawa initiative spearheaded by the mayor at the time, Marion Dewar.

In Canada, he started over yet again, but the language and cultural barriers made it even harder. He worked at restaurants as a dishwasher or cook until he retired.

He lived in the apartment above our family business and would come down on a daily basis to drop off Chinese herbal broth or dishes that he’d cooked himself.

Up until recently, he still played badminton and ping-pong at local community centers; he was apparently a formidable ping-pong player.

He leaves behind seven children, eleven grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

His sacrifices laid the foundation for us to live to our fullest.

In memory of Lang-Anh Huynh (January 30, 1930 — May 23, 2021)