Edward Teh was born on July 23rd, 1950 in Malaysia. He was married to Anna on February 16th, 1985 and is survived by his wife; daughter Rebecca, son-in-law Dylan and grandson Rowan; son, Ezra; his brother Robert and sister Lillian; and mother Mary.
He and his family left Malaysia to immigrate to Canada in August 1989. He left to be with the Lord on February 1st, 2023.
Edward is the youngest in the family of four. He graduated as a civil engineer, worked as a roads engineer in Malaysia and took up other positions at several property development companies till he left for Canada.
He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord in 1982 after studying the book of “Basic Christianity” by John Stott under the discipleship of elder, Dr. David Gunaratnam. As a Christian, he believed that each of us has a mission in life, to serve God in ways that we could, to show love and compassion to our fellow men and women.
While in Malaysia, Edward served as a board member in the Care Home Ministry for many years, providing care and ministry to children who were separated from their parents as their parents were being treated for leprosy. He was also on the elder-board team at Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church, serving faithfully until he left for Canada.
Edward had a great passion to serve others and he would happily reach out to those in need. When he decided to emigrate to Canada in 1989 with his family, he was looking to work in an environment without corruption or bribery. He was able to contribute his trained skills in property developments in downtown Vancouver till he retired at age 60.
He has never stopped living out his faith and showing compassion and love, choosing to serve in various ways, including bringing the church and Sunday services to the seniors in the Tricity area care homes. He often mentioned that we were bringing the church to those who could not attend church physically. He also looked forward to helping out in the kitchen of a homeless shelter for several years until the Covid lockdown. He sought to serve whenever there was an opportunity such as visiting hospitals, leading Bible studies and reaching out to international students at the Focus Club at SFU.
He was also an avid tennis player who would happily drop dead at a tennis court as he said many times before. He would play tennis as long as it was dry outdoors even in temperatures below zero degrees. Whenever we would walk in the park where there were courts nearby he would say, “let’s go see who’s playing”. He also loved to go for walks in parks, admiring the trees and leaves, sunsets of different forms and often struck up conversations with strangers. He also enjoyed writing poems and doodling in his free time.
Edward had a big heart to all those he came across. Care and service with much joy was his hallmark. He loved the Lord, as evident in his cheerful spirit every time he was called to serve. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him well.
Our family will miss his absence dearly. However, we are at peace as we know he is now in the presence of the Lord Almighty.