Class 1961
Articles and News of Class 1961
Stephen is among the 13 Ontarians who were honoured with the 2012 Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship during a ceremony at Queen’s Park on October 18. Created in 1973, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship recognizes people who have made exceptional long-term contributions to the quality of life in the province.
Citation reads, “Stephen Lam of Richmond Hill has led many settlement organizations in coordinating a one-stop service for immigrants in York region. He created the first of five welcoming centres for the growing diverse communities in the area, helping more than 10,000 new Ontarians with their transition to Canada.”
In Memoriam – Mak Wai-Kei, Gregory 麥偉基
(April 22, 1943-September 19, 2012)
Studied at Wah Yan College, Kowloon, 1955-1962
Please click here.
Loo Wei-Zun, May and Fong-Ying Yu are in town. The 61ers had a dinner with them at Vince Seafood Restaurant in Markham, on Sunday, August 12. Mr. Ho was invited. Wei-Zun, now a Meditation/Qigong Master, and Mr. Ho have not met for over 50 years!
壬辰年 清明
One part of the DVD is a series of "In Memoriam." It recollects, mainly from the perspective of the Class of '61, the Fathers, teachers and schoolmates who passed away. The project is an act of love and remembrance that constitutes a living link with the past and, hopefully, will form a reservoir of collective memories that live on, for the Class of ’61 and all Wahyanites.
It is now uploaded for a wider audience. The series is the work of Wong Hin-shing and Yu Fong-ying (both ’61).
Please click here for the files of "In Memoriam".
Please click here for the "In Memory Of" video.
The 3-day programme ended with a gala dinner held on Sunday, November 13, in the school hall. Attending were classmates with their wives, many from overseas, and invited staff. Michael Chan, Martin Lee and Bernard Wong came from Toronto. Invited guests were Fr Mallin, Fr Naylor, Fr Zee, Mr Wong Chin Wah, Mr Laurence Tam, Mr Anthony Ho, Principal Dr John Tan and Monty Fong from Wah Yan One Family.
The following links shows the events:
- Class of 1961 Reunion
- '61 Grads 50th Reunion WahYan Mass & Metropole Lunch
- '61 Grads 50th Reunion Kowloon Cricket Club
- WYK Class of 1961 50th Anniversary Reunion
Wong Hin-Shing writes, "The Toronto class of 1961 had their 50th Anniversary reunion on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at Golden Court Abolone Restaurant, Richmond Hill. We were fortunate to have a room reserved for us through our classmate, Michael Chan.
There were altogether eight of us, including our honored guest Mr. Anthony Ho. Classmates present were: David Chan, Michael Chan, Clement Ching, Stephen Lam, Martin Lee, Bernard Wong and Hin-Shing Wong.
Mr. Ho had prepared a slideshow "In Memory of Fathers, teachers and classmates, R.I.P." with photos and data supplied by Hin-Shing. So the first event in the evening was viewing the photos of our dear Fathers, teachers and classmates who had passed away. We were indeed very moved as we remembered them.
It has been more than 50 long years since John Chan Doming from Hong Kong met some of his classmates in Toronto. During his very short stay, he and his wife, Jan, managed to find time to have dinner with the group on Thursday, July 22, 2010, the night before he left for Hong Kong via the States.
Looking back, the School Swimming Champion in 1960 found himself having studied 2 full years in Primary 6 in other schools before joining P6 at Wah Yan. Another proudly announced that he had the fortune of repeating three years before graduating from Form 5 in 62 and then moving onto McGill. Another record was set in the 50’s in Form 3D when 8 students had to repeat another year with the same Form-master, Father Mallin. Repeating was not unusual at Wah Yan in those years. Interestingly enough, many repeaters enjoyed their extra time at school.
Now that many are professionals, practicing or retired, anecdotes of their work were happily shared. Time flew by. They discussed their 50th Anniversary reunion in Hong Kong next year. Preparation has already been under way. Parting, they said, “See you at reunion.”
Click here for more photos.