“Ichu, my beacon of light, love of my life.”
~ Jenny ~
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God
Matthew 5:8
From Work Colleagues, Community, and Friends...
Ichu had three main passions in his life: his wife and family, his work, and ballroom dancing.
He was enormously proud of Jenny and their children, and would happily talk at length about their accomplishments given the right opportunity. And none of us who had worked with Ichu for years with little insight into his private life will ever forget seeing him and Jenny take the floor at a Powerex Christmas party, he in top hat and tails, she in a splendid gown, twirling and gliding like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Jaws dropped in admiration.
But I knew Ichu mostly through many years of working together on challenging problems. We made an odd couple; me computer illiterate with conceptual ideas and no clue how to operationalize them and Ichu with unparalleled computer and mathematical skills and the patience and incredible work ethic to untangle my woolly logic. We worked together on load forecasting and integrated resource planning to help BC Hydro understand critical financial implications of long term system expansion plans.
I used to say to Ichu, “you make me look good”. He’d laugh and say in return, “you can make people understand what I’m thinking.”
~ Ken Peterson, Chairman, B.C. Hydro
I always admired his enthusiasm, enormous talent and good humour… [he] was a true trailblazer in the application of digital computer technology. I also recall Ichu’s proud commitment to his family.
~ Conrad Guelke, Strategic Planning, B.C. Hydro
He was by far my favourite colleague and we spent many happy hours in animated debate as we analyzed issues that arose at work and those that were important to us in our lives, including his love of ballroom dancing with his beautiful wife.
~ Maria Harris, BC Hydro colleague
Ichu is being missed already. It was always such a pleasure to talk to him and such an inspiration.
~ Charlotte M., our banker @ BMO
I remember fondly of how you both taught waltzing at our Newman Ball, which I still practice.
~ Conroy Hui, Treasurer, Newman Club of UBC
I will always remember him dancing away at your wedding with a big smile on his face.
~ Angela Carter, Winsome’s friend
Even though I have only met Ichu last year, I have learned a lot from him and remember him fondly.
~ Wren Hung, Treasurer, Strata Council, Chancellor House
He has been so tireless in working to make our Chancellor House a safe and secure home. We will all miss his guidance.
~ Tom & Ann Henessy, Residents, Chancellor House
…speaks to Ichu’s dedication to his role as president. I have served on this strata for over 10 years and can honestly say Ichu’s knowledge of the workings of a council surpassed those of anyone I served under. I hope the fact that he was elected to serve on council by a large majority of owners made him realize his work was recognized and appreciated by many of the owners.
~ Kay, Strata Council Member, Chancellor House
From His Family...
My beautiful husband...
Before I even knew his name, I was attracted to his big head of curly hair. Then, with time, I came to love a beautiful, kind-hearted, gentle soul. He’s my best friend. He’s the first one I go to when I feel lost. It is typical of Ichu to hold my hand and take me down to the dance floor as soon as the music starts everywhere we go. Ichu is happiest when he sits a baby on his left knee with his arm around it, and eats with his right hand.
He’d pour himself out to help others when asked. During the past few days, message after message I’ve received contain words such as a “lovely man”, “heart of gold”, “noble soul”, and “child-like joy in his eyes.” Yes, that’s my Ichu. His big smile will live in our hearts forever.
~ Jenny
Memories of Dad...
Drawing on the floor with me with all the recycled computer paper with perforated edges that came home from the recycle bin of BC Hydro when I was about 5. When I was in 2nd year of Mechanical Engineering, I felt overloaded. I was taking 7 courses and it was affecting my health. He saw how stressed I was and then asked me if I had studied with Mechanics of Materials yet. “You need to stay elastic,” he said. “Load yourself up but don’t get to the point where you plastically deform.”
The first and only time I heard him scream was when he was teaching me how to drive. He built me an adjustable piano footstool for my feet so they don’t have to dangle when I practice, and a little chair for Wyatt to sit on for practicing cello. He taught me how to play blackjack and poker. When I was doing my MBA internship at Canada Post, I was fortunate to work across the street from his BC Hydro office downtown so we could meet regularly for lunch. On his last visit with me in August, as he said goodbye after staying overnight, he had a big smile and told me that he thought that I had the “ideal family”. I’m so glad I got to hear that from him. Just one of the many ways he let me know how proud he was of me and how much he loved me.
~ Winsome Rauch, older daughter
My Dad...
I take great inspiration from the way Dad lived his whole life. He was loyal and valued service to the community, devoting most of his working career to BC Hydro and serving the people of BC.
He was principled - through example and advice, I remember him putting more importance in doing what he thought was right rather than what was expedient or convenient. His prodigious work habits were legendary and taught everyone the value of diligence.
He was a “startup founder” before the word was coined when he launched Pisces Software and introduced the world to a new way of looking at security analysis. Most of all, it was plain to see for everyone how much he loved his wife and was devoted to her and the joy and contentment he experienced in his almost 50-year marriage to Mom. He modelled for everyone the best example of the strenuous and virtuous life.
~ Chilwin Cheng, older son
My esteemed father-in-law...
It struck me that [my father-in-law] was not big on small talk. It was not easy or quick to get to know Ichu. He was not particularly talkative or outwardly opinionated. It would be easy for the world to make assumptions about Ichu, to just see the surface. But if you engaged Ichu in a specific topic he was interested in, it was like finding the secret code to a hidden treasure. The vault would open, and you would discover a land much more detailed and colourful than what you first imagined; and there were many more secret codes, hidden treasures, and thoughtful discussions than one might expect.
~ Mike, son-in-law
My Dad...
Dad was a principled man who valued integrity and hard work. I internalized these values directly from his actions and behavior.
Ever since I was 5 years old, dad would let me choose a “Game of the Day” to play together. Games like Go, Garfield or Chinese Checkers. The game I chose most often was Chess.
Notably, dad never let me win. With every loss I developed an appreciation that playing a game isn’t about winning. Sportsmanship means having fun whether you win or lose, and character is having the perseverance to always try again. It took me over 10 years before I beat dad at chess for the first time, and I am better for it.
Another moment which left an imprint on me came when I was in 12th grade. I was in the International Baccalaureate program in high school. My grades were good, with straight As except for a B in French. I didn’t need French to graduate. If I dropped French it would increase my chances of getting a scholarship because my GPA would go up. Instead of having 6 A’s and a B, I would get simply 6 A’s. Less work, higher GPA. This was even the advice of one of my beloved teachers. But Dad was against it. He said I shouldn’t be “learning less” just to game the system for a higher GPA. What he said stuck with me. As an adult I lead my life now taking on every learning opportunity and putting in my best effort not worrying about what scores I get, confident that the learning and the effort are what matter most.
~ Wyatt Cheng, younger son
Remembering Dad...
I am proud of him and his life’s work as a pioneering data scientist in the early 80s applying his ideas - like his paper on the Holt-Winter Channel - into programming advanced statistical forecasting models 10 years before statisticians were proposing it, and 25 years before it became the established field we know today. He told me he was known to his colleagues at BC Hydro for taking up all the extra server time in the 80s and early 90s, until he was able to take a few server computers home and have them run his forecasting models overnight, 24/7.
In our family we don’t verbalize “I love you” or show much physical affection like hugs - especially as we all got older. My experience with dad was different from my siblings’ as I am the youngest and the rebel in the family. But Love from dad was shown through continuous support: practical compassion, acceptance even if he didn’t fully understand, and a lot of patience and faith. He taught me to be humble - win or lose; to actually read the rules; and, to always strategize a realistic plan based on data.
I will always remember him practicing dance steps in public places without realizing it; his high spice tolerance (and our attempts to test it); his sneezes reverberating throughout the house; trips to random computer stores for the cheapest 50-pack CD spindles; his red bean soup; and, the sight of him napping on the floor while my cat, Misty, naps on his chest (even though he was highly allergic to cats).
~ Aria Cheng, younger daughter
Ichu Cheng
B.Sc, Mechanical Engineering QUEEN MARY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, UK
M.Sc., Operations Research and Computer Science IMPERIAL COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, UK
M.I.Mech.E. ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS OF ENGLAND, UK
P. Eng. ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS, BC
MEMBER, SOCIETY OF STATISTICIANS, UK
MEMBER, AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION, USA
Donations in the memory of Ichu can be sent either to:
BC Heart and Stroke Foundation
or
St. Mark's Parish, 5935 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T1J7
(email:
parish.smark@rcav.org
)