Eulogy on Mrs Elsie WooLaiSaan Szeto

1/27/1921 - 8/25/2000

by Peter YamPoon Woo, nephew (10/2001)

Aunt Elsie, whom I address as "Bart Gwu Jair", was the eighth child and the youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Woo YeeDoong (spelled officially as "U I Tung")  She is lively, witty, humorous in nature, well loved by her siblings.  Some say she has the blessed gift of making people feel accepted and comfortable with themselves.  I can never forget her hearty laughs.  So say also my siblings. One cousin said her laughs uplifted him from his rather cheerless childhood experience.

She went to the prestigious Ying Wah Girls school in Hong Kong from kindergarten to high school graduation in 1937. 

Her musical talent was recognized early.  Her father could not afford to get a piano, until her elder brother HingTak Woo graduated from the University of Hong Kong and started working as a clerk in 1929.  Then he bought her a piano.

She took lessons, for 6 or 7 years, from the most prestigious piano teacher in Hong Kong in those decades, Mr Harry Ore, a Jewish refugee from White Russia, who claimed Elsie is one of the eight talented students whom he really hoped to cultivate into concert pianists.  That was not to happen, because of World War II and her mother's  opinion, in those days, that girls should better prepare themselves for motherhood rather than such a professional career.   Anyway she was a popular pianist at her school gatherings, and was very active at school in various activities.  

The school wanted her to come back to teach after she graduated and got trained at Northcote Teachers College for 2 years.  So she came back at 1940, teaching Physical Education in a new style, which delighted everybody.  She also promoted programmes and activity at a Christian student organization called Wah Gwong ("China's Light"), which promoted patriotic financial support for the War against Japan.   

The story of the triumph of her love with Dr Onward Szeto, over much troubled waters, will not be told here.  World War II started after Pearl Harbor in December 1941.  Dr Szeto asked her mother for permission to marry her, because he decided to go to inland China, since Japan already occupied Hong Kong.  Permission was granted only after he got a good position at HengYang, Hunan Province.  So Aunt Elsie went to Hunan Sept. 1942.  They got married on Jan. 2nd, 1943, at ShaoGuan, GuangDong Province, which was at the cross traffic of people going in and out of Inland China from Hong Kong and Canton.  Their first son Simon was born in Oct. 1943 at XiangTan, Hunan Prov.  

Then came the final battle of the ChangSha plains against the Japanese in 1944, where the Chinese Nationalist government had to retreat.  So the whole family left Hunan for Guizhou Province where God delivered them from a near-starvation experience.  They settled at Guiyang in 11/1944, then near Kunming in Yunnan in 2/1945.  Their daughter Kathy Szeto was born one day before Hiroshima was bombed, and so Japan surrendered, and they moved back to Hong Kong in October.  Aunt Elsie showed uncommon courage and resourcefulness in facing all the hardships and difficulties of survival in those years.

Before leaving for China in 1943, Aunt Elsie was also giving piano lessons at Prospect Terrace.  She said students of the University of Hong Kong would look over the wall and listen to her piano playing.  One of her students was a Japanese lady.  At her last lesson before Aunt Elsie had to leave for China, she came in full Kimono dress, and departed from Prospect Terrace with a deep bow while stepping backwards towards the door.  

From 1945 to 1970, after which they emigrated to United States, was a most fruitful time in Aunt Elsie's life.  Dr Szeto was practicing medicine with great success.  Aunt Elsie was his right hand person, financial manager, office manager, and sometimes pharmacist, besides being a wife and mother, raising up 5 kids.  The big house at Norfolk Rd was a place of activities, warmth and laughter, mother in law, loving servants, a photograph processing darkroom, two cars, dogs, cats.  Some relative moved to HK from China, and Aunt Elsie let her stay in her house for months, giving piano lessons to students at her grand piano.  Her house was also frequently open to meetings of her church's youth group or women group, as well as Dr Szeto's social friends, plus family birthday parties several times a year. 

There was a fisherman who came to Dr Szeto's office, and charged $10 HK for medicine that cured him.  Next time he brought another sick friend/relative.  The doctor charged that man only $5.  Strangely enough, the man was not happy.  He said he wanted "the $10 treatment".  Another patient was given the usual 5 oz. medicine bottle and told to drink half an ounce after each meal.  Well, he opened the bottle right then and there, and drank it all.  Most of the patients were poor fishermen families from Yaumati, or poor men applying for jobs at the bus company.  A typical HK doctor treats 50 patients or more per day.  

Then Aunt Elsie was active with Kowloon Rhenish church all those years, working with the Choir, Women's Fellowship, visiting the sick, and as a Counsellor for high school and college groups.  Her pastors often did not appreciate her long time goal of cultivating the spiritual lives rather than social activities of the young people.  Eventually 5 young men from that group became ministers.  Spiritual revival came to that group during the late 1950's.

Aunt Elsie was generous with her material means.  She helped relatives in need, those in ministry, and churches and seminary who had needs.  Thus she contributed to the successful effort of training young people for the ministry in seminaries.  Dr Szeto became a member of the committee for the Pei Ling Annual Bible Conference in Hong Kong, but it was she who would organize and call up needed personnel for ushers, book tables, choirs, etc., during those annual revival meetings.  She was a tireless Martha, as described in the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs.

Personally, my family is greatly indebted to her for her love, generosity and encouragement during our childhood.  One of my moments of doing something for her happened in 1953, when for a short time Simon came to my school.  One morning he was crossing Nathan Road slightly carelessly.  A taxi veered to avoid hitting him, but hit another car.  I saw it all.  The drivers came out of their cars, grabbed him in the middle of the street as the culprit.  Simon was only 10 years old, too scared to move, but just stood there weeping.  I hurried to a shop close by, borrowed a telephone to call Aunt Elsie, who hurriedly drove to the site from her home.  Finally she settled the matter with the drivers, and Simon could then come to school.  I felt like a hero.  

After coming to USA they had the courage to start life again.  Dr Szeto went back to medical school and became a Psychiatrist.  Aunt Elsie did not mind working at a bank, readjusting herself to life in America.  They lived simply, yet happily.

There were also much trials and heartaches and sorrows throughout her life, from one thing after another.  However, the Lord's grace has always been sufficient to enable her to stand, and her faith to grow through all these.  She then can console and encourage us who have sorrows and would come to her.  Uncle Francis Woo described what a beautiful and lively person she was, when they stayed in Hawaii with them for a few days.  

In the recent years her health and mobility were impaired by years of arthritis, but she faced life with positive hope and interests.  That is why her Homegoing is a bit of a surprise.  Though it grieves us to say goodbye to her for a time, I can only imagine the happy reunion she would have up there with her son Simon, her mother and father, and 4 other brothers.  Imagine her elder brother asking her, in his inimitable smile, "Well, how are my descendants doing down there lately?".  

Elsie W Szeto ~ Final Resting Place