Lillie Khin Sein Sein, as she is known here in Canada was born in 1926, raised and educated in the country of Burma which is now known as Myanmar or officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand.
Lillie who is now 89, wanted to start her story by explaining her name: She said, "My name in my Burmese passport was Daw Khin Sein Sein so when I first arrived here in Canada the people who were processing my immigration papers referred to me as Mrs. Daw, taking 'Daw' to be the family name. In point of fact, 'Daw' is an honorific, which can either mean Mrs. or Miss according to age. Lillie is my English name which was given to me when I started schooling at an English Catholic Boarding School in Burma; Khin Sein Sein is my Burmese name.
"Due to this misunderstanding I was obliged to go and get my name changed at the RCMP office at my expense."
Lillie said, "Burma is mainly a Buddhist country and my parents were both Shan Buddhists. My father was U Po Cleone, he worked in the service of the British administration as an executive engineer in the Public Works Department until he died at age 47. He was a kind and gentle man and he taught me all that I know about Buddhism. He taught me to be good always and to do what was right, in thought, word and deed according to the five precepts which we had to recite everyday in front of the altar. The five precepts are to refrain from stealing, telling lies, coveting the neighbor's spouse or property and to have loving kindness, compassion, empathy and consideration for all others."
Lillie started her education at St. Joseph's Convent, an English speaking Catholic boarding school; she was forbidden to speak in any other language so she learned very good English.
She entered Rangoon University in 1946 where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a Master of Arts in English language and literature and teaching of English as a second or foreign language and poetry.
Her desire was to get a good paying job at a Western embassy however since her husband was a high ranking officer in the war office, and holding down the rank of assistant adjutant general, it was absolutely out of the question for her to be working for a foreign embassy.
It was a goal to get work with a government service for it was there that you were held in much higher esteem as one with status, honor, respect and power. Since Lillie was not able to work at any embassy she was obliged to work at various universities as an instructor. She instructed for the next 23 years until the time of her mandatory retirement at the age of sixty in 1987.
Lillie said, "In 1988, a year after my retirement, there was a big upheaval in the country with widespread riots nationwide and even a short period of anarchy. The situation was unstable with chaos and turmoil so we decided then and there that I would try to get a teaching job at a school or university anywhere in Thailand.
"To my good fortune, I landed myself a job at Assumption University in Thailand. I spent thirteen happy years in Thailand until I retired a second time in 2000."
Lillie said, "I shall talk a little about Joe a kind, gentle and considerate man to whom I was very happily married to for nearly 56 years. He was a career army officer, fought in World War II and received the Military Cross for his bravery in parachuting into enemy territory, organizing a group of guerilla fighters and sabotaging strategic military posts.
"We immigrated to Canada under the sponsorship of our son Allwynn. We arrived in Prince George in 2002 and Allwynn bought us a small cottage at the corner of 17th Avenue and Tamarack Street. My husband Joe passed away in 2003 due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma disease."
The couple had three children; the eldest child, a girl died at birth and her youngest son who was a mercantile marine engineer, died in 1995 at the age of only 37 as a result of a heart attack. Her son Allwyn (wife Wendy) Sailong lived in Prince George but sadly passed away in 2008 as a result of lung cancer at the age of 58. Lillie has two grandchildren.
Lillie was sad and alone and wanted to make new friends so she joined the Prince George Canadian Federation of University Women's Club.
She said, "I contacted Evelyn O'Sullivan, the then president of the association, after which Donna Brundige, the membership convener came to me with all the necessary papers and explained to me all that I needed to know about the CFUWC.
"I am proud to be a member of one of the most fabulous and fascinating group of ladies for which I feel I am greatly privileged, honored and thankful to be a member. They have all been good friends over the years and supported me during the time of the loss of my son Allwynn.
"The club ladies from the bridge group patiently taught me to play bridge and we play bridge every Friday morning."
Lillie concludes by saying, "Someone once asked me what my proudest moment was to which my response was, that it was the moment when I repeated the oath of allegiance to this great country and became a Canadian citizen. I shall endeavour until the end of my days - which due to my advanced age, sadly cannot be too far off in the future - to live a life of righteousness befitting a good responsible citizen, in particular a Canadian citizen."
