Voon Loong Chan found fairness and promise for his children in Canada | Canada Voices

Voon Loong (Ricky) Chan: Scientist. Athlete. Father. Coach. Born Sep. 8, 1942, in Malaysia; died Apr. 25, 2026, in Burlington, Ont., of a heart attack; aged 83.

Voon Loong Chan learned to ride a bicycle at age seven on a dirt road in the village of Temoh, Malaysia, crouching under the crossbar of an adult bike and squeezed between vehicles and a barbed wire fence. The fence kept tigers in the jungle (mostly) but it had failed to protect the village from guerrilla soldiers. Voon Loong’s family had already fled, leaving the boy with his uncle.

Once a spot had been secured at a prominent English-speaking Catholic school in the city of Ipoh, Voon Loong joined his parents and siblings, five other boys and six girls.

To keep out of city gangs, he threw himself into sport. He swam, ran, and played badminton and basketball as his studies allowed.

As a teenager, his family came into enough money to send him to Melbourne, Australia, for high school. His beloved mother admonished him not to “come back with a white wife.” There he met Penny Alcock, whose family wanted nothing less than for her to be that white wife.

Voon Loong and Penny shared an adventuresome spirit and similar values: Work hard, tell the truth, make friends and cherish family. Otherwise, they contrasted: She was bubbly and free; he was methodical and strategic.

They married in 1966 after graduating from the University of Melbourne. When Voon Loong’s master’s supervisor left for Western University in Canada, the couple ended up in London, Ont.

Working at the same cancer lab, he studied microbial genetics, she immunology. They cooked chicken curry in beakers and fell in love with cold Canada.

PhDs in hand, they took up teaching jobs at the University of Malaya to be near his close-knit family as they started their own. When Malaysia dictated that all instruction was to be done in Malay, Voon Loong grew restless. He left in search of fairness and promise for his children, landing an assistant professorship at the University of Toronto. Penny followed with their two young boys (Chee, a toddler, and Kai, a newborn).

In Canada, they had a daughter named Soo. In 1980, the rest of the family joined Soo as proud Canadian citizens. As Voon Loong’s career took off, the young family embraced their new country, learning to ski, canoe and camp, and visiting every province. Voon Long instigated adventures; Penny planned and packed them.

As a father, he was all sports with a sprinkling of science. With him, the kids played ball, watched ball and did arithmetic. If they didn’t win or score 100, maybe they could work harder.

Voon Long’s work on the pathogen Campylobacter jejuni distinguished him as a leading microbial geneticist, although he also relished biochemistry collaborations with UBC Nobel Laureate Michael Smith.

In his 40s, Voon Long took up squash, and by studying good players he won often at the World Squash Masters Championships.

In 1993, he retired and went bike touring with Penny, completing dozens of trips across four continents, making friends everywhere they went.

As his children married and seven grandchildren joined Team Chan, Voon Loong became their head coach. They biked, swam, paddled and played every sport imaginable in the Chan Olympics.

He taught his family that sport was never only for achievement; it forged friendships under pressure. That said, he liked to tell people how often he won. Surely they wanted to know?

For his family, no ask was too much. Could they send back money to Malaysia from their tiny graduate student stipends? Yes. Could a niece come stay for university in Toronto? Sure – we’ll add rooms onto the house. A nephew, too? Great – a sub for three-on-three basketball. Another nephew? The more the merrier.

In his 70s, he became a certified coach and ambassador for pickleball, even bringing it to his hometown in Malaysia. He and Penny made a yearly pilgrimage to Naples, Fla., for the US Open Pickleball Championships. He won gold and two silvers in the 80+ category just 10 days before his death.

In his final days, those closest to him sensed a change. He was, at last, content. It wasn’t only that he had ascended so high in the pickleball ratings (4.68) that there didn’t seem to be another 80 year old left to play, but that he was surrounded and adored by the family he had built with Penny.

Kai Chan is Voon Loong Chan’s son.

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