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Dr. Martin Hsiang-Hsing Yeh

February 10, 1928 - August 18, 2019
Peacefully at 91 years of age, in Edmonton, Alberta, after a summer of loving care with family and friends. He was pre-deceased by his beloved wife of 44 years, Angeline in 2005, in Vancouver, BC. He is survived by Emerald and Joseph Lau, his daughter and son-in-law, and their children, Joshua and Jada; Timothy Yeh and Gail Commandant, his son and daughter-in law, and Nicholas, Daniel, and William; and Franklin and Echo Yeh, his youngest son and daughter-in-law, and Matthew, and Juliette.

Martin was born in Shanghai, China, as the third child of seven in the Yeh Chen Hsuan family of Suzhou, China. His brothers Ku-Hsing (and his wife Pan Yi-Fen, their children Chao Hung, Garry Chao Ge, Ming-Chih and Fung-Chih), Eugene Yuen-Hsing (and his wife Irene Chou, their son Peter, and Cynthia his wife, and their son Alexander), Augustine Tzu-Hsing (and his wife Joan Yen, their children Yvonne and Carol), Bai-Hsing (and his wife Ma Lai-Ya and son Richard Ling), and his sisters, Hsin-Hsin (and her husband Tsung Liang Ho, and sons Qing Ho, and Ming Ho), Li-Li (and her husband Paul Jiang, and their sons Alexander, and Thomas Jiang), and many nieces and nephews, were always in his mind, as he took great pleasure in their successes, and great family pride in helping at least five of their families immigrate and settle to Canada and the United States.

Martin completed his primary and secondary education in Shanghai, and left for a holiday to Taiwan in December of 1948, when great events prevented his return, as The People’s Republic of China took power on the mainland in 1949. Not allowing this to deter him, he applied to study at the National Taiwan University, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics in 1951, and worked as an assistant in the Sino-America Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (JCRR) for three years. He furthered his studies after obtaining a full scholarship towards a Master’s degree at Michigan State College in 1954, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (in Econometrics) at Iowa State College in 1958. He then went to the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg as an assistant Professor in Agriculture in 1959, and became a full Professor in 1975, from where he retired in 1994 to enjoy the milder climate of Vancouver with Angeline.

Martin met Angeline Lee (originally from Hong Kong), who was a protégé of Dr. John Brown (Faculty of Education) at the University, and they found common ground as chinese ex-patriates, and thence love and marriage in 1961. Their family grew and spent many happy years in Winnipeg, along with Angeline’s mother, and brothers and families (including His Honour Philip Lee CM, OM, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba; his wife Anita, and their children Margaret, Mabel and Malinda; and Robert Li; his wife Sylvia, and their children Rosemary, and Christopher), where no day passed without family interaction.

Travel and living abroad played a big part of Martin and Angeline’s life, as the demands of academia and postings allowed them to spend time (sometimes years!) at Yale University (New Haven 1966-1967) for a Post-doctoral fellowship; Cambridge University (England 1967); the Netherlands School of Economics (1967); the United Nations’ Latin American Institute (Santiago, Chile 1972-1974); the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (Ethiopia 1979-1980); a return to the National Taiwan University (Taipei 1983-1984); and Feng Chia University (China 1990-1991). He had many academic awards, including honorary Professorships, and lecture tours through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the government of China, and universities in Japan, Australia, Chile, and the West Indies.

His chinese cultural pursuits were the focus of his spare time, and he became a founder of the Institute of Chinese Language, Culture, and Arts (ICLCA) in Winnipeg, where language classes were felt to be a bridge to understanding the chinese mind (much to the dismay of his children, whose every Saturday was spent in language classes!). He was a co-founder of the Cathay (China) pavilion of Folklorama (an annual summer cultural festival of Winnipeg), where his children were seconded to perform in painting, dance, demonstrate cooking, and model chinese fashions.

Over the last few years, Martin maintained a routine of visiting with his children in Vancouver, Edmonton and Hong Kong, where although he was the “strict Chinese patriarch”, he took great delight in his grandchildren. He enjoyed travelling to meet up with relatives in China, and maintained friendships with his professors and collegues of the various universities/agencies he was involved with. At his home in Vancouver, he walked and swam almost every day, and was fiercely independent until his cancer diagnosis in 2019. He was a regular churchgoer throughout his life both in Winnipeg at the St Paul’s Collage Christ the King Chapel at the University of Manitoba and in Vancouver at the Guardian Angels Catholic Parish, where he served until his illness. He also served with the Knights of Columbus for two years and made many good friends in the congregation. His mah-jong partners, Winnipeg friends and academic connections were the mainstay of his social life.

He was immensely grateful to his palliative care team (Dr. Trent Dusang, Jenna, Tracy, and Lea), who provided support in the home in Edmonton, allowing dignity and solace during a difficult time.

A special thanks to Dr. Trevor Newton and his wife Dr. Joanna Rousey- Newton who were so caring as family friends and were instrumental to his diagnosis at the UBC Hospital in Vancouver.

A chapel visitation and service will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 3789 Royal Oak Ave, Burnaby, BC at 10 AM, August 30th.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the BC Cancer Foundation by clicking 'Make a Donation' on this page.