Mama (1934-2007)

Mama (1934-2007), originally uploaded by davedavid86.

On Saturday, 15 September 2007, around 4.45pm, Mdm Seh Siow Hwa, or Mama as she was always known by the family, went back to be with Our Lord after a brief 3-week-struggle with acute myeloid leukeamia..

Here's what I wrote in my eulogy to Mama..

Since I’m the first grandson in the Lim family, I feel obliged to take this time to share about the person we have and will always fondly know as “Mama”. Mama was not only my grandmother but she was also one of the nicest and kindest women I’ll ever know. Of course she had a name but for me and most of the family, she has and always will be mama.

As I was pondering what to say, I trawled through photo albums of her and my grandfather - known affectionally as Kong Kong. I have to say she lived a really dramatic and exciting life from the time she moved to Malaysia from Fuzhou, living through the Japanese invasion in World War II, then meeting Kong Kong and having my dad and 3 other children. I know Mama was a very good mother because all of them are very nice people to me. Her life was settling down when the first grandchildren started arriving, i.e. Sui being the first, followed by me, the first grandson in the family.

I know that Mama was a very good mother because she was also the best cook. One of my best memories of her was her chicken porridge which I remember was orange but became white when I realised that all food needn’t be colourful. She also seemed to be “omnipresent” – I could always count on her to pick me up from school or tennis when mum wasn’t available. Moreover, she was one of the most selfless people I’ll ever know, for she always sought to make other people’s lives comfortable, often with little regard for her own self. Right till the end, her first concern was always with us. She always kept me from doing the dishes and other household chores.

No words can really describe adequately the impact Mama had on our lives, but what I can say is that she was a tremendous individual who led a tremendous life and had tremendous power and influence over the family – the matriarch of the family you could say.

For now, there will be grieving and deep sorrow amongst close family and friends – that’s natural since she was so dear to our hearts. But I think this is also a time to celebrate the life of a person who was a superstar in her own right – a purveyor of hope, joy, peace, kindness and most importantly, love. Physically she may be no more, but because of her salvation, she has earned the greatest and eternal gift – the right to be with Our Father in Heaven in the greatest retirement village of them all - a place without illness, despair, pain and suffering. She will now experience joy and peace forever – just as she strived to give when she was in the flesh.

Rest in Peace, Mama.