Hong Fa Tao

Tao Hong Fa (or Hong Fa Tao, depending on what part of the world you’re from), Nov. 10, 1936 – June 1, 2022, Shanghai time. Son of a war hero, beloved by his family, survived by his wife Xu Qin Fang, his children Zhi Guo and Wei Li, and his grandchildren Elizabeth (Huan-Huan) and William (Le-Le).

Dad Tao always loved children, and loved to spoil them. This may have been because of his own harsh childhood. His father was a diplomat, fluent in five languages, with his staff later becoming ministers in the new government in China. His father, however, was lost in the war, sending his family into terrible poverty and his newborn son, whom he never got to hold or see, into a world of hardship and neglect.

This ended when the Chinese government was finally able to find the surviving family, and celebrate them as the family of a hero. They were moved to a nice apartment and honoured every year with a gift from the government. Dad Tao married somewhat late, but made up for it by showering the children of his extended family, his nephew and niece—all living in that same apartment—with treats, outings, and trips to the movies.

After he married it was the same for his children. When he was invited to wedding banquets, as the one guest he was allowed to bring he always chose his little daughter Wei Li.

A major holiday in China, and in many countries, is International children’s day. On June 1, there are field trips to start the day, surprises and treats for the kids. This was always a very important day for Dad Tao, and he made sure to make it extra special for all the children in the extended family

Dad Tao was renowned among his co-workers in the huge Shanghai steel plant where he worked, being named top employee many years in a row. (After about twenty years of this, he announced Enough! Give the award to someone else.) He enjoyed his first decade of retirement in Shanghai with this friends and family, and even more his longer years in Canada, brought here by that now grown-up little daughter. As in Shanghai, he became a master of the map, knowing every part of Ottawa, and every bus and train route to get there.

A good Shanghai husband, he was also the master of the kitchen. After that hard childhood he always loved to eat, and always insisted that every guest ate, and ate. Every Thanksgiving dinner was a challenge to see if there was another plate of seconds or thirds or…that he would turn down!

But for Dad Tao, his greatest joy was in being in Canada with the daughter that he was so proud of, and then…finally…being presented with grandchildren. Finally, indeed, because at his *eightieth* birthday party, one of the family friends noticed that first grandchild Elizabeth was about eighty days old, and loudly announced to him, Do you know that you are 365 times older than she is?

When Chinese names were being discussed for little Elizabeth, he vetoed them with a rare speech. No, we will call her Huan-Huan, because she has brought joy to the family. A couple of years later the grandson came along, and Le-Le he became, to complete the joy.

One of the traits for which he was well known at the steel plant was that, never mind the date, he always knew the exact time. He rarely wore a watch, but his all co-workers would come to ask him for the time, and he was always right. In his later years in Canada, on a long vacation flight and many hours into the day, he was asked the time by his mischievous daughter. When she protested that his response was off by three minutes, she got one of his more characteristic short replies: Nonsense.

At the end of his life, cared for by the wonderful staff at Elizabeth Bruyère, he was as strong and sharp as ever. He may not have known the exact time anymore, but he must have known the date. He appreciated all the visits from family, telling many tales of his days in long-ago Shanghai. On his last night, all of his Ottawa family were there to see him. The grandchildren were running around and exploring, and eating ice cream brought to them by one of those care workers. He took his last breath late that evening, May 31, his family with him. Afterwards, his daughter wondered why this could be, so close to June 1. And then we realized that in Shanghai it was already nearly noon on Children’s Day, and that the grandkids had been there to see him, on that special trip, with special treats, first thing in the morning Shanghai time, as children would do first thing in the morning on Children’s Day.