Toasting her life with champagne
Sarah Ng
674 words
17 September 2006
Straits Times
English
(c) 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
That's how war heroine would have wanted it, said eldest daughter
at the end of her mum's funeral
THE family of war heroine Elizabeth Choy celebrated her life with
champagne at the end of her funeral at the Mandai Crematorium
yesterday.
She would have wanted it that way, said her eldest daughter, Mrs
Bridget Bay.
Raising a glass of pink champagne to about 100 family members and
friends gathered at the crematorium, Mrs Bay said: 'This is a
celebration of Mum's 96 very good years. This is not goodbye. This
is till we meet again. Cheers to Mum!'
The former teacher and one-time politician died peacefully at her
MacKenzie Road home last Thursday , about two weeks after being
discharged from hospital. She was told last month that she had
advanced cancer of the pancreas . She was 96 .
Mrs Bay told The Sunday Times: 'Mum had told us not to cry when she
goes to heaven, but to celebrate her life. She would have been very
happy and proud of us.'
The small celebration was a contrast to the solemn 90-minute
funeral service at the historic St Andrew's Cathedral earlier,
where more than 600 casually dressed people bade farewell to the
sprightly nonagenarian best known as a war heroine.
It was the first time in St Andrew's 150-year history that it had
allowed a wake to be held on its premises. It made an exception as
Mrs Choy was a war heroine who served both Singapore and Britain
during the Japanese Occupation.
British High Commissioner Alan Collins expressed his gratitude for
Mrs Choy's contributions to Britain during the Japanese
Occupation.
He said: 'On behalf of the British government and the British
people she had helped, I would like to pay our sincere and utmost
respect to Mrs Choy.'
She and her husband, Mr Choy Khun Heng , were jailed and tortured
by the Japanese for helping British prisoners of war.
Mr Choy, who was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
along with her husband after the Japanese Occupation, died in
1985.
Mrs Choy was born Yong Su-moi in Sabah in 1910. She came to
Singapore to study in 1929, and started teaching in 1933, first at
St Margaret's School and later, St Andrew's School.
In 1951, she was nominated to the Legislative Council - Singapore's
first woman legislator. She retired from politics in 1955 and
returned to teaching.
In the two eulogies yesterday by her grandchildren - Cheryl Ong,
26, and Stefanie Bay, 18 - she was remembered as the loving 'po
po', or grandmother in Chinese, who inspired them with her
'unconditional love for others and amazing spirit'.
Ms Bay said her grandmother had taught her to enjoy the simple
things in life, and in her eyes, her 'po po' was like Mother
Teresa.
Tears flowed towards the end of the service, when the family took
one last look at Mrs Choy in her white casket. She was dressed in
one of her favourite outfits, a sequined maroon and black
cheongsam, with an orchid tucked behind her ear - her signature
look.
Mrs Choy was one of Singapore's first few girl guides. At the
crematorium later, Girl Guides Singapore's deputy chief
commissioner Jessie Tan told The Sunday Times that her death was a
great loss to the girl guide community. 'She was truly a Girl Guide
who lived her promise of serving the country and the people, right
to the end.'
A former student of St Andrew's Junior School recalled how Mrs
Choy, who was the school's vice-principal then, had taught him to
appreciate nature. Said businessman Eric Yeo, 53: 'She loved
flowers and took great care of the bougainvillea that framed the
school archway. She also got us to help care for them. I will
always remember her zest for life.'
Mrs Choy is survived by her three adopted daughters, four
grandchildren and four siblings.
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