Jai, Raymond Yew Kwong

• 謝耀光

Raymond Yew Kwong JAI 謝耀光 was born on January 29, 1916, in Vancouver to JAI Kee, a tailor from Panyu (Punyu番禺) county in Guangzhou (Canton廣州), and QUON (?) See. He was the youngest of 5 children and his father passed away when he was little. Unable to support the family on her own, Raymond’s mother decided to take the children back to China, where the Jai family clan could help raising them. Raymond lived in Canton with his family and received classical Chinese education, developed deep interests in Cantonese Opera and music, calligraphy and martial arts, which he carried on for the rest of his life. He could sing, play the violin, banjo, flute, as well as a variety of Chinese instruments, such as erhu, pipa, yangqin (yong kum揚琴), and other percussion instruments.

Being Canadian-born, Raymond was able to return to Vancouver in 1934 at the age of 18 despite of the Chinese Exclusion Act in effect. He found a job in a restaurant for living, and soon joined the Vancouver Ching Won Musical Society as a music teacher and violinist. He met his singing student Beatrice Lew there, who would become his future wife. Beatrice relocated to Toronto with her sister in 1950, a move that she never regretted because there was less racism and better opportunities. Raymond decided to join Beatrice, and they got married in Toronto on June 1,1951. Together, the couple raised their only daughter, Julie Jai, whom they adopted in 1961.

Raymond continued to work in Chinese restaurants to support this small family. His photographic memory for faces and great personalities made him liked and respected by everyone he met. When he retired at the age of 70, he was the maître d' at Lichee Gardens restaurant where he had worked for many years.

Besides work, the couple was very involved in Cantonese Opera communities both locally and back in Vancouver and helped founding the Yet Hoy Cantonese Music Club in 1964. Raymond mostly took roles in the music department, in various positions such as music director, conductor and principal percussionist. He prepared role-specific notations on music scores and libretti, wrote tailor-made scores for Julie to inspire her interest in Cantonese Opera, as well as numerous educational materials for teaching traditional Chinese music and instruments. When new ideas came, Raymond would jot them down on any scrap paper that he could find handy, including the back of flyers, menus, guest check slips from the restaurant he worked at, as well as drafts that Beatrice made for her work.

Raymond had good manners on stage, a great sense of humor and exceptional public speaking skills. He was often asked to be the emcee for different celebrations and banquets, both for Yet Hoy performances and social events held by other groups and associations. Raymond also remained close connection to his Jai (謝, also spelled as Tse/Der/Xie in different pronunciations) family clan since he returned to Canada. He actively participated in gatherings and other activities at the Chau Luen Kon Sol (association for five family clans of Tan/Tam 談, Tan/Tam/Hum/Hom 譚, Xu/Hoi/Hui/Hoy許, Xie/Jai/Tse/Che/Der 謝 and Ruan/Yuen/Ngen阮) in Vancouver and Toronto, and became the leader of the Jai family clan later in life. Julie recalls that “I now recognize how significant his accomplishments were in keeping Cantonese opera alive in Canada and supporting the Chinese community in Toronto, all while working six days a week at a restaurant job and supporting a family.”

Raymond passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 88 on September 15, 2004.

Created by Z. Yang, 25 Oct 2024.