In Loving Memory of my Uncle Lee Mun Lum : 明爱的记忆 - 我的四舅父 李文淋

Born 1928.

Passed away peacefully at 7:00 am Friday 4th March 2017 Singapore time.

All his life, he had been a kind and soft-spoken gentleman.

His education in a Chinese school was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation of Singapore during the years 1942 to 1945. He had to learn Japanese but at the then age of 14, he was not in the least interested in schooling. Instead, he spent the Japanese occupied years at Japanese campsites bringing deliveries of grocery items to the Japanese officials. I was told by my Mum, his elder sister that he was a lovable teenager and was nicknamed “Ah Poong” meaning “Chubby” in Cantonese. Because of such activities, my Mum had recounted, the Lee family (Grandma Pang and her five children - my Mum being the eldest child in the family) had always sufficient food (rice especially) to eat as 4th Uncle Mun Lum was well renumerated in kind (rice, sweet potatoes, yams and other niceties) for his services.

One incident that stood out in my memory of him was when I was six or seven years old when I met an accident been knocked down by a slow-moving car as I ran across a Chinatown road. As always, he had spoilt me by allowing me to have my favorite roadside hawker stall food, Rojak. He had given me the money to buy and I was rushing to the hawker when this happened. I could not remember how I rescued but his sweet smiling comforting face kept popping up every time I thought of this event in my life. His immediate action had rescued my left angle from severe damage and this indeed was a blessing. I can still remember the care he had taken to do my daily dressings and the tender manner in which he had done my bandages. The scar left on my left foot at my ankle still bear testimony to his kind soul.

Over the years Uncle Mun Lum had been kind not only to me personally but also to my wife and my family members. He was always willing to listen to us and smilingly he would consider what we had said although at times I knew for sure that he had not understood what we were saying. Come to think of it, I cannot recall of any time or instance when he had shown any anger on his face.

He was bedridden during the last few years and that was a pity as he had enjoyed walking to his favorite coffee shops for his regular meet ups with his social friends.

Uncle Mum Lum, Please rest in peace. To end this blog, I would like to read to you three pieces of poetry printed below:

 

MISS ME BUT LET ME GO

Attributed to Edgar A. Guest

When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little–but not too long
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared,
Miss me–but let me go.
For this is a journey that we all must take
And each must go alone.
It’s all a part of the Master’s plan,
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss Me–But Let me Go.

 

I AM NOT GONE

by Injete Chesoni

I am not gone
I remain here beside you
Just in a different form
Look for me in your heart
And there you will find me
in our love which forever lives on

In those moments when you feel alone
Look for me in your thoughts
And there you will find me
in sweet memories that burn strong

Every time a tear
Forms in your beautiful eyes
Look up to the heavens
And there you will see me
Smiling down from God’s glorious skies

 

A PSALM OF LIFE

 

https://youtu.be/uE9zy5UKCTU

Unforgettable.

Condolences to 四舅妈，cousins Miew, Boon, Fong and LeeAnne.