Today is the funeral of Mervin Chan, a member of the church whose name is quite familiar with most members in Singapore from the pioneer days. As I am with Han enrolling him to driving school in KL, we are unable to attend the funeral. Geok Lee messaged me that he had passed away a few days earlier on Nov 12.
Living or Dead, I'm one who is always interested to connect to the individual, asking questions like when did we first meet, who is related to him that I know and reflecting upon the time we have shared together. For the past few days, I kept thinking about Mervin and searched my memory and went through my archives of photographs and realized I didn't really know him that well. It was only until recently when I met him at the same ward as Geok Lee at the cancer hospital in Singapore last year that I got to know him better.
I guess Mervin is a man who easily makes friends with others that even for one like me who lived in Malaysia most of my life with occasionally visits to Singapore, he would become a familiar face to me, always ready with a handshake to greet me and would come and talk to you as if he has been your friend all his life. It was this same way when I met him at the hospital and we talked as close friends. I felt that comfortable familiarity with him even though as I said we have not been really in close contact in the past years. I saw his face more when he started working for the Church office in Singapore but I had always known him from way back but wasn't sure since when, how or why? I asked Geok Lee about it and she too acknowledged that she only knew him only since the family moved to Singapore. Here are some pics of our recent association with Mervin and his family to share in rememberance of him in our family post :
He was always an active member at church meetings and socials. Above is seen at the farewell party for Oh Chong Keat and Wyndia family in Nov 2007.
His whole family seems to have joined the Church. Pictured at Church in the Clementi Ward is his mother and sister Delicia who served a mission in Malaysia in our KL branch before. The rest are his other sisters Irene, Serena and Eric who now resides in Canada. Wonder if we missed out any others?
Just earlier in the month on 2 Nov we heard he was at the hospital and had a chance to see Mervin alive for the last time. Being such a familiar person to all the saints in Singapore, I believed many visited him at the hospital too which would be tiring for Christina, his wife, who has been a positive and supportive partner in his life. May God continue to bless the Chan family and Mervin too. I think he is now happy to meet many of the people he has become familiar with that have also departed and may have left behind a legacy or fond memories of them.
Living or Dead, I'm one who is always interested to connect to the individual, asking questions like when did we first meet, who is related to him that I know and reflecting upon the time we have shared together. For the past few days, I kept thinking about Mervin and searched my memory and went through my archives of photographs and realized I didn't really know him that well. It was only until recently when I met him at the same ward as Geok Lee at the cancer hospital in Singapore last year that I got to know him better.
Found this photo of Mervin with his wife Christina and their son at an event of the Singapore Armed Forces.
I guess Mervin is a man who easily makes friends with others that even for one like me who lived in Malaysia most of my life with occasionally visits to Singapore, he would become a familiar face to me, always ready with a handshake to greet me and would come and talk to you as if he has been your friend all his life. It was this same way when I met him at the hospital and we talked as close friends. I felt that comfortable familiarity with him even though as I said we have not been really in close contact in the past years. I saw his face more when he started working for the Church office in Singapore but I had always known him from way back but wasn't sure since when, how or why? I asked Geok Lee about it and she too acknowledged that she only knew him only since the family moved to Singapore. Here are some pics of our recent association with Mervin and his family to share in rememberance of him in our family post :
He was always an active member at church meetings and socials. Above is seen at the farewell party for Oh Chong Keat and Wyndia family in Nov 2007.
His whole family seems to have joined the Church. Pictured at Church in the Clementi Ward is his mother and sister Delicia who served a mission in Malaysia in our KL branch before. The rest are his other sisters Irene, Serena and Eric who now resides in Canada. Wonder if we missed out any others?
Just earlier in the month on 2 Nov we heard he was at the hospital and had a chance to see Mervin alive for the last time. Being such a familiar person to all the saints in Singapore, I believed many visited him at the hospital too which would be tiring for Christina, his wife, who has been a positive and supportive partner in his life. May God continue to bless the Chan family and Mervin too. I think he is now happy to meet many of the people he has become familiar with that have also departed and may have left behind a legacy or fond memories of them.
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