Some of you who read this blog for Ko Kwai might want to write a few lines to remember her. You can do so by clicking "comments" below. A new page will appear - select anonymous and then start writing your piece. But please don't forget to sign your name at the bottom of your writing before clicking "publish your comment". Thanks.
Please click "comments" here to view lines written by Wong Sau Por, Lucille, Ho Kwai Ming, Matilda, Sin Ling, Stanley Ng, Christopher Wong Bun Hung, Manying Sung, Cynthia Lui...
(Since these comments are not shown on the front page, many of you might have neglected to read them. For easier access, I've copied these comments here for all to read. -LS)
From Wong Sau-Por
October 28, 2009 4:30 PM
I am one of the fortunate ones who knew Kwai Fun since high school.We lived in the same apartment building in HK and I got to know her family as well. Dear friend, I shall miss you and remember you always- your soft smile,your generosity and kindness to others. Rest in peace dear friend.
From Lucille
October 28, 2009 5:40 PM
Knowing Ko Kwai is a great blessing and I will cherish it forever.
Ko Kwai, Many thanks for your loving care and encouragement. You don't have to worry about me. I promise you I will take good care of my health.
Till we meet again.
From Ho Kwai Ming
October 29, 2009 1:35 AM
I met Kokwai at the age of 12. She was almost a goddess to me. It was unthinkable to read about my classmate in Wah Kiu Yat Po, with high praises for her calligraphy in an exhibition. She was good at every subject. I could only admire her from afar. I think I got the name HoKwai because of her.
I was lucky to be able to spend three years in the same class (she was always in 'A', the best class). I came to know that this gentle soul was more than human. I met her a few times outside school. Every time, she was with her mum. She was the most loving daughter I have known.
In St. Paul's College, I have noticed the patience she had with her boys. I heard from the boys that they would never lie to her for two reasons: first, she was never offended, and secondly, she would not doubt them.
I still remember the happy reunion when I visited Toronto. But it is sad to know that such gatherings would be without KoKwai.
From Matilda
October 30, 2009 9:27 AM
I've arranged for Ko Kwai's name to be announced at the 7:00 pm mass for the repose of her soul at Saviour of the World Church in Mississauga by Fr. Lung. For those who wish to attend, SOTW Church is located on 30 Bristol Road W. To get there from Scarborough, take Hwy 401W, exit on Hwy 10 and turn left. Drive past 3-5 traffic lights until you get to Bristol Rd. W. and turn right. Drive till you see St. Francis HIgh
School. Turn into the high school at the second entrance (there are 2 entances) and drive past the school into the church parking.
PS - In my hurry, I left out the date. The mass is for tomorrow at 7:00pm at Saviour of the World Church.
From Sin Ling
November 1, 2009 1:36 AM
Having worked all my life in the education field, I understand and appreciate the important role played by the family and peers in the development of children.
I was fortunate to have a good family and many good friends who grew up with me. My parents, like most Chinese parents, valued education and had high expectations of their daughter at school. However, in substantial terms they did not know much about education nor did they have the ability to help me. Thank God I was placed in the best class of the grade, surrounded by smart students, like Kokwai. They set the standards and examples, and somehow I was motivated to be like them.
As Kokwai and I lived quite close to each other, we traveled to and from school on many days. She must have exerted her subtle peer influence on me, as I managed to stay in the same class as her throughout the secondary school years. As my role model, I tried my best to learn to be smart, gentle, hard-working and kind, like her. However, I knew I would never be her equal, though she always treated me as such.
Thank you, Kokwai, for touching my life in such a beautiful way. I feel privileged to have you as my friend. You will be cherished in my heart forever.
From Stanley Ng (1971 Form 5 graduate)
November 3, 2009 6:55 PM
I am really sad to hear of Ms. Ko's untimely death. She taught me history at Form 4 and/or 5. She was always patient and gentle with us. At that time, I never took History seriously and she was once crossed with me.
The last time I saw her was in a Dinner Gathering held at the Convention Centre by St. Paul's some 10 years ago. She recognized me but at the time I just did not how to relate to her and simply let this chance for an encounter slipping away. How silly of me?
Dear Ms. Ko, your personality must have made an impact on me in some positive ways.
You will always be remembered and cherished. May God bless you in Heaven.
From C Wong (Wong Bun Hung, Christopher - class of 1979)
November 9, 2009 4:12 PM
Ms Ko was certainly a very kind person. She was my history teacher when I was in Form two. She was always a humble person, despite she had academic achievement she never boasted of. I was awed at her phenomenal Chinese calligraphy. Also, she was a historian, her Master thesis was titled "The constitutional experiment in early republican China, 1911-1916". The link is as follows: http://hub.hku.hk/handle/123456789/39253
PS - To Mrs Kwok, good to see your comments , though it is a sad place to meet....
From Manying, AKL, NZ.
November 27, 2009 4:59 PM
三载同窗.南迁北徙, 揂有鱼雁传音讯.
卄年远别.天人骤隔, 愧无佳句祭良朋.
敬悼好友桂芬
曼瑛 27.11.2009 于纽西兰.
When I first learnt of dear Kwai Fun's passing on 21 Oct, I've just arrived in Vancouver, mourning the death of my cousin Maggie. Kwai Fun's passing came as a double shock, and I was numbed for quite some time. I wrote a piece remembering Ko Kwai, and I couldn't think of much else--until late last night. At 2am I jumped up from my bed and scribbled the above few lines. Nothing much--just to say, Kwai Fun, I miss you, and i consider knowing you my great good fortune in life.
From Cynthia
November 28, 2009 4:09 PM
My dear friend Ko. Your sudden passing away has shocked me. I grieve for you but now I take comfort in the thought that you are now in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ where you are safe from worldly woes. You lived all your life mostly for others and now it is time for you to rest in peace. Fare thee well!
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15 comments:
I am one of the fortunate ones who knew Kwai Fun since high school.We lived in the same apartment building in HK and I got to know her family as well. Dear friend, I shall miss you and remember you always- your soft smile,your generosity and kindness to others. Rest in peace dear friend.
Wong Sau-Por
Knowing Ko Kwai is a great blessing and I will cherish it forever.
Ko Kwai, Many thanks for your loving care and encouragement. You don't have to worry about me. I promise you I will take good care of my health.
Till we meet again.
Lucille
From Ho Kwai Ming
I met Kokwai at the age of 12. She was almost a goddess to me. It was unthinkable to read about my classmate in Wah Kiu Yat Po, with high praises for her calligraphy in an exhibition. She was good at every subject. I could only admire her from afar. I think I got the name HoKwai because of her.
I was lucky to be able to spend three years in the same class (she was always in 'A', the best class). I came to know that this gentle soul was more than human. I met her a few times outside school. Every time, she was with her mum. She was the most loving daughter I have known.
In St. Paul's College, I have noticed the patience she had with her boys. I heard from the boys that they would never lie to her for two reasons: first, she was never offended, and secondly, she would not doubt them.
I still remember the happy reunion when I visited Toronto. But it is sad to know that such gatherings would be without KoKwai.
I've arranged for Ko Kwai's name to be announced at the 7:00 pm mass for the repose of her soul at Saviour of the World Church in Mississauga by Fr. Lung. For those who wish to attend, SOTW Church is located on 30 Bristol Road W. To get there from Scarborough, take Hwy 401W, exit on Hwy 10 and turn left. Drive past 3-5 traffic lights until you get to Bristol Rd. W. and turn right. Drive till you see St. Francis HIgh
School. Turn into the high school at the second entrance (there are 2 entances) and drive past the school into the church parking.
Matilda
In my hurry, I left out the date. The mass is for tomorrow at 7:00pm at Saviour of the World Church.
Matilda
Having worked all my life in the education field, I understand and appreciate the important role played by the family and peers in the development of children.
I was fortunate to have a good family and many good friends who grew up with me. My parents, like most Chinese parents, valued education and had high expectations of their daughter at school. However, in substantial terms they did not know much about education nor did they have the ability to help me. Thank God I was placed in the best class of the grade, surrounded by smart students, like Kokwai. They set the standards and examples, and somehow I was motivated to be like them.
As Kokwai and I lived quite close to each other, we traveled to and from school on many days. She must have exerted her subtle peer influence on me, as I managed to stay in the same class as her throughout the secondary school years. As my role model, I tried my best to learn to be smart, gentle, hard-working and kind, like her. However, I knew I would never be her equal, though she always treated me as such.
Thank you, Kokwai, for touching my life in such a beautiful way. I feel privileged to have you as my friend. You will be cherished in my heart forever.
Sin Ling
I am really sad to hear of Ms. Ko's untimely death. She taught me history at Form 4 and/or 5. She was always patient and gentle with us. At that time, I never took History seriously and she was once crossed with me.
The last time I saw her was in a Dinner Gathering held at the Convention Centre by St. Paul's some 10 years ago. She recognized me but at the time I just did not how to relate to her and simply let this chance for an encounter slipping away. How silly of me?
Dear Ms. Ko, your personality must have made an impact on me in some positive ways.
You will always be remembered and cherished. May God bless you in Heaven.
Stanley Ng (1971 Form 5 graduate)
Ms Ko was certainly a very kind person. She was my history teacher when I was in Form two. She was always a humble person, despite she had academic achievement she never boasted of. I was awed at her phenomenal Chinese calligraphy. Also, she was a historian, her Master thesis was titled "The constitutional experiment in early republican China, 1911-1916". The link is as follows: http://hub.hku.hk/handle/123456789/39253
clarification: Wendy is Wong Bun Hung, Christopher class of 1979. I used my wife's google account.
To Mrs Kwok, good to see your comments , though it is a sad place to meet....
C Wong
三载同窗.南迁北徙, 揂有鱼雁传音讯.
卄年远别.天人骤隔, 愧无佳句祭良朋.
敬悼好友桂芬
曼瑛 27.11.2009 于纽西兰.
When I first learnt of dear Kwai Fun's passing on 21 Oct, I've just arrived in Vancouver, mourning the death of my cousin Maggie. Kwai Fun's passing came as a double shock, and I was numbed for quite some time. I wrote a piece remembering Ko Kwai, and I couldn't think of much else--until late last night. At 2am I jumped up from my bed and scribbled the above few lines. Nothing much--just to say, Kwai Fun, I miss you, and i consider knowing you my great good fortune in life.
Manying, AKL, NZ.
My dear friend Ko. Your sudden passing away has shocked me. I grieve for you but now I take comfort in the thought that you are now in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ where you are safe from worldly woes. You lived all your life mostly for others and now it is time for you to rest in peace. Fare thee well!
Cynthia
Sorry to hear the passing away of my history teacher. She taught us
history when I was Form 5 during1970-71(F5D graduate). She was an excellent and hard working teacher. She spent extra hours to teach us. She was one of my respectful teachers in St. Paul.
Rest in peace-Miss Ko........
Tak Fung
Last weekend I came across Miss Ko's obituary in the July 2010 issue of St. Paul's College newsletter. The half-page notice reverberates in my head all week. While I am deeply saddened by the news, I am thankful to have Miss Ko, once again, re-emerged within the realm of my memories, in particular, of my high school days. I am also grateful to find this forum to share my thoughts with respect to the passing of Miss Ko.
The year was 1971 when I entered Form 1 at St. Paul's College. Miss Ko became my teacher when I entered Form 2. She was my EPA teacher then. (It was only much later that I learnt EPA stands for Economics and Public Affairs.)
I was in class 2E. Our classroom was a mere two doors away from the lavatory. With SPC being a boys' school, it is not difficult to understand why most teachers dreaded even come near our classroom. Nonetheless, Miss Ko always came to our class with a smile.
Miss Ko was one of the few unique individuals that I knew who could smile through her eyes. Far too many people who could scream, shout and broadcast their rage with their eyes, but there rarely is a person like Miss Ko who had eyes which glowed with warmth, kindness and wisdom.
Almost as a rule, Miss Ko dressed plainly. She never wore any makeup nor perfume. She was petite -- she was not taller than most of us Form 2 boys. And she was never angry. As we didn't feel threatened, not before long we all lowered our shields and began to like her.
Miss Ko never yelled at us. She was the most soft spoken person on campus. Although we had no problem hearing her even at the back of the classroom, some of us took advantage of her decency and chose to ignore her lectures -- I was one of them. While Miss Ko was teaching, we would play bridge at the back. Sorry, Miss Ko. We all loved you dearly, but we couldn't say the same about EPA.
How did we play bridge in the middle of Miss Ko's class? Well, typically someone would, onto a piece of paper, copy the hands of the bridge game (in the crosswords section) in that day's South China Morning Post . Each hand -- N, S, E & W -- would be distributed to each of the four players (whose desks must be adjacent to each other). Bidding was done strictly in sign language, and playing in complete silence. The toughest part was to make a grand slam and stayed quiet.
Because Miss Ko was so well-liked and respected, none of us had the heart to give her a nasty nickname. Behind her back we called her "Go Mui" or, literally, our "tall little sister". We must apologize belatedly for our disrespect although, Miss Ko, if you knew what we called our other teachers you would certainly forgive us.
Two years these days may not seem much longer than a blink of an eye. Back in my days of SPC, that's how long that I had the good fortune and pleasure to have Miss Ko as my teacher. Against the harsh landscape that was Hong Kong in the early 70s when most of us were taught at home that this is a dog-eat-dog world, that we should not trust anyone, and that we should stay ahead at all costs, Miss Ko's warm personality and her friendly smile certainly left an indelible mark on all the young minds that she touched.
Thank you, Miss Ko. May you rest in peace.
Lui Wai-Wing (Wayne)
Fremont, California, USA.
P.S.
Here is a photo of the SPC staff members taken in the late 1970's:
http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=43&u=11775423
Last weekend I came across Miss Ko's obituary in the July 2010 issue of St. Paul's College newsletter. The half-page notice reverberates in my head all week. While I am deeply saddened by the news, I am thankful to have Miss Ko, once again, re-emerged within the realm of my memories, in particular, of my high school days. I am also grateful to find this forum to share my thoughts with respect to the passing of Miss Ko.
The year was 1971 when I entered Form 1 at St. Paul's College. Miss Ko became my teacher when I entered Form 2. She was my EPA teacher then. (It was only much later that I learnt EPA stands for Economics and Public Affairs.)
I was in class 2E. Our classroom was a mere two doors away from the lavatory. With SPC being a boys' school, it is not difficult to understand why most teachers dreaded even come near our classroom. Nonetheless, Miss Ko always came to our class with a smile.
Miss Ko was one of the few unique individuals that I knew who could smile through her eyes. Far too many people who could scream, shout and broadcast their rage with their eyes, but there rarely is a person like Miss Ko who had eyes which glowed with warmth, kindness and wisdom.
Almost as a rule, Miss Ko dressed plainly. She never wore any makeup nor perfume. She was petite -- she was not taller than most of us Form 2 boys. And she was never angry. As we didn't feel threatened, not before long we all lowered our shields and began to like her.
Miss Ko never yelled at us. She was the most soft spoken person on campus. Although we had no problem hearing her even at the back of the classroom, some of us took advantage of her decency and chose to ignore her lectures -- I was one of them. While Miss Ko was teaching, we would play bridge at the back. Sorry, Miss Ko. We all loved you dearly, but we couldn't say the same about EPA.
How did we play bridge in the middle of Miss Ko's class? Well, typically someone would, onto a piece of paper, copy the hands of the bridge game (in the crosswords section) in that day's South China Morning Post . Each hand -- N, S, E & W -- would be distributed to each of the four players (whose desks must be adjacent to each other). Bidding was done strictly in sign language, and playing in complete silence. The toughest part was to make a grand slam and stayed quiet.
Because Miss Ko was so well-liked and respected, none of us had the heart to give her a nasty nickname. Behind her back we called her "Go Mui" or, literally, our "tall little sister". We must apologize belatedly for our disrespect although, Miss Ko, if you knew what we called our other teachers you would certainly forgive us.
Two years these days may not seem much longer than a blink of an eye. Back in my days of SPC, that's how long that I had the good fortune and pleasure to have Miss Ko as my teacher. Against the harsh landscape that was Hong Kong in the early 70s when most of us were taught at home that this is a dog-eat-dog world, that we should not trust anyone, and that we should stay ahead at all costs, Miss Ko's warm personality and her friendly smile certainly left an indelible mark on all the young minds that she touched.
Thank you, Miss Ko. May you rest in peace.
Lui Wai-Wing (Wayne)
Fremont, California, USA.
P.S.
Here is a photo of the SPC staff members taken in the late 1970's:
http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=43&u=11775423
Last weekend I came across Miss Ko's obituary in the July 2010 issue of St. Paul's College newsletter. The half-page notice reverberates in my head all week. While I am deeply saddened by the news, I am thankful to have Miss Ko, once again, re-emerged within the realm of my memories, in particular, of my high school days. I am also grateful to find this forum to share my thoughts with respect to the passing of Miss Ko.
The year was 1971 when I entered Form 1 at St. Paul's College. Miss Ko became my teacher when I entered Form 2. She was my EPA teacher then. (It was only much later that I learnt EPA stands for Economics and Public Affairs.)
I was in class 2E. Our classroom was a mere two doors away from the lavatory. With SPC being a boys' school, it is not difficult to understand why most teachers dreaded even come near our classroom. Nonetheless, Miss Ko always came to our class with a smile.
Miss Ko was one of the few unique individuals that I knew who could smile through her eyes. Far too many people who could scream, shout and broadcast their rage with their eyes, but there rarely is a person like Miss Ko who had eyes which glowed with warmth, kindness and wisdom.
Almost as a rule, Miss Ko dressed plainly. She never wore any makeup nor perfume. She was petite -- she was not taller than most of us Form 2 boys. And she was never angry. As we didn't feel threatened, not before long we all lowered our shields and began to like her.
Miss Ko never yelled at us. She was the most soft spoken person on campus. Although we had no problem hearing her even at the back of the classroom, some of us took advantage of her decency and chose to ignore her lectures -- I was one of them. While Miss Ko was teaching, we would play bridge at the back. Sorry, Miss Ko. We all loved you dearly, but we couldn't say the same about EPA.
How did we play bridge in the middle of Miss Ko's class? Well, typically someone would, onto a piece of paper, copy the hands of the bridge game (in the crosswords section) in that day's South China Morning Post . Each hand -- N, S, E & W -- would be distributed to each of the four players (whose desks must be adjacent to each other). Bidding was done strictly in sign language, and playing in complete silence. The toughest part was to make a grand slam and stayed quiet.
Because Miss Ko was so well-liked and respected, none of us had the heart to give her a nasty nickname. Behind her back we called her "Go Mui" or, literally, our "tall little sister". We must apologize belatedly for our disrespect although, Miss Ko, if you knew what we called our other teachers you would certainly forgive us.
Two years these days may not seem much longer than a blink of an eye. Back in my days of SPC, that's how long that I had the good fortune and pleasure to have Miss Ko as my teacher. Against the harsh landscape that was Hong Kong in the early 70s when most of us were taught at home that this is a dog-eat-dog world, that we should not trust anyone, and that we should stay ahead at all costs, Miss Ko's warm personality and her friendly smile certainly left an indelible mark on all the young minds that she touched.
Thank you, Miss Ko. May you rest in peace.
Lui Wai-Wing (Wayne)
Fremont, California, USA.
P.S.
Here is a photo of the SPC staff members taken in the late 1970's:
http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=43&u=11775423
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