For thirty years, Chester Yuen was the quiet centre of a household. He cooked, he managed, he cared. When Jean and Arthur Davies could no longer drive, Chester learned. When nurses came to help in their final years, Chester followed up on their care, ensuring that Arthur and Jean could live out their days at home, surrounded by the life they had built.
Chester had come to Canada from China, having fled the communist revolution. He came to the Davies household through a connection of Arthur's, who had been struck by the attentiveness and dedication of a caregiver in a friend's home. Arthur went to a restaurant on the site where Olivea now stands, met Chester there, and asked if he might consider coming to live with them. Chester said yes, and he remained for three decades.
He had his rules. The kitchen was his domain, and Jean knew better than to venture in. Once a week, Chester spent an evening out playing mahjong with friends, and he made regular visits to his wife and family. But otherwise, he was a constant and devoted presence in the household. There is a story Elaine Davies tells about a moment near the end of Arthur's life. Elaine is the widow of the late Michael Davies, one of the Community Foundation's founders and its first presidents, and Jean and Arthur were Michael's parents. When Arthur passed out and was rushed to hospital, Chester was beside himself. When Arthur returned home, Chester looked at him and said, "I thought you were dead." Arthur smiled and replied, "No, I was just practicing."
Arthur lived to 93 and was able to spend his final days at home. Jean also passed away at home. Chester's care made both possible.
It is that gift, the gift of dying with dignity, in familiar surroundings, supported by people who know you, that inspired the Davies family to establish the Chester Yuen Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation. The fund provides permanent support to Hospice Kingston's Palliative Care Centre and Residential Hospice, now known as Providence Care's AB Smith Homestead House, ensuring ongoing care for patients and families navigating life's most difficult passage. For the family, the connection to Hospice Kingston is deeply felt. "
"It is important to make this transition easier," said Dr. Gregory Davies, son of the late Michael Davies. "That is what Chester gave Arthur and Jean, and that is what we want this fund to give others."
The fund is also an expression of something the late Michael Davies believed deeply: that a fund is not just a financial instrument. It is a way of keeping a name alive. Chester Yuen lived simply and gave generously of himself. There is a bench in his memory in City Park, beside the waterfall where the statues of two children play. And now, year after year, his name appears in the grants that flow from this fund, and more families are able to have exactly what he once provided: the chance to be cared for, and to say goodbye, in a peaceful setting.
If you would like to support Providence Care Hospice, you can donate to its fund here
