Jai, Raymond Yew Kwong

• 謝耀光

Raymond Jai was born JAI Yew Kwong on January 29, 1916, in Vancouver, BC, to father, JAI Kee, a tailor from Punyu county in China’s Guangdong province. His father died when he was young, leaving him and his four older siblings under the care of their mother. Unable to support the family on her own, she took the children (back) to China where extended family could help raise them. At this difficult time, it is presumed that the family sought and received support from their clansmen through the Chau Luen Society.

In China, Raymond received a classical Chinese education that included Cantonese opera, Chinese music, calligraphy and martial arts, which became lifelong practices. He was a gifted musician; in addition to singing, he played the violin, banjo, flute, and Chinese instruments including the erhu, pipa, yangqin, and other percussion.

Raymond was born in Canada. At the age of 18, he exercised his right to return to the country, arriving in Vancouver in 1934 at the peak of the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923-1947). He found work in a Chinese restaurant before joining the Ching Won Music Society as a violinist and music teacher. His singing student and fellow member of the music club, Beatrice Lew, would become his future wife when he followed her to Toronto where the couple wed on June 1st, 1951. A decade later, they adopted their daughter, Julie, whom they raised as their only child in their home in the Rosedale neighbourhood.

Together, the couple was active in the Cantonese opera communities both locally and back in Vancouver. In Toronto, they founded the Yet Hoy Cantonese Music Club in 1963 in the city’s Chinatown. Beatrice played lead female roles, while Raymond assumed lead roles in the music department as music director, conductor, and principal percussionist.

It was rare for a Canadian-born Chinese person to be so skilled in such a wide range of traditional Chinese arts. Raymond's music training in China made him a valuable teacher and resource in the community. Possessing great stage presence and public speaking skills, he also often served as emcee for Yet Hoy performances and social events, and would be invited to perform this role for other community groups and associations.

In Canada and through his adulthood, Raymond maintained close connections with his family clansmen through the Chau Luen Society and its branches in both Vancouver and Toronto. He participated actively in its gatherings and activities, serving on its leadership later in life.

Raymond worked in front-of-house positions in Chinese restaurants in Toronto’s Chinatown, retiring at the age of 70 from Lichee Gardens as maître d'.

He died in Toronto on September 15, 2004.

Created by June Chow in February 2026.