Otherwise known as Jimmy-goh, Hong-goh, Uncle Jimmy, Jimmy Nathan Cheng was born on August 13th, 1960 in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as the fifth of seven children. Jimmy is survived by his son Jordan, daughter Justine, grandson Kazu, former wife Jane, and his siblings, Mark, Thomas, Lee, Alice, and his younger brother Johnny. Jimmy is predeceased by his parents and their beloved little sister, Cheng Lai Wah.

Jimmy completed highschool at Tupper Secondary in East Vancouver and went on to start his career in the restaurant industry. He worked at a few restaurants before beginning a joint ownership with his brother Mark and a few others, and would later on become the sole owner of West Lake Vietnamese Restaurant proudly boasting ‘“Richmond’s best spring rolls” as Jimmy would tell anyone.

He was the best dog parent to JJ, the family’s beloved Maltipoo up until JJ’s passing in 2019. Their favourite thing to do together was sit on the couch and share a banana. He would also always make time to meet every Thursday with his bandmates to play music and sing (https://www.youtube.com/@thursdelight/videos). Jimmy was a self taught guitarist and bass player. He of course, made time to golf. Golf was his happy place. It was where he could de-stress, swing some clubs, and unwind. Jimmy also was a great tennis player.

In July 2021, Jimmy was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Jimmy went through chemotherapy treatment for a full year and was able to continue golfing until Oct 8th, the last day on the course for him.

Jimmy will be forever missed and always in our hearts.

Your donations will support an expanded study on a new method for determining susceptibility for developing colorectal cancer in the future. Dr. Isabella Tai and her team discovered a series of genetic markers which indicate a predisposition to colorectal cancer in a previous, smaller study, and are now working on expanding the study to confirm their findings for publication. The colorectal test being studied has a 90% sensitivity rate, up from the current 40% sensitivity rate of the standard stool-sample test. The test being studied uses DNA in a person’s blood or saliva, meaning they can take the test home and mail samples in for testing rather than having to provide a stool sample. If the study is expanded and published, the test could easily be replicated in labs around the world, elevating the standard of care here in BC and elsewhere, and increasing the likelihood that colorectal cancer will be detected earlier leading to better outcomes for future patients.