Born on 4th May 1921, Chan Yuk Yue grew up in an affluent Hong Kong family. Her father, originally from Mainland China, was a rising star in the Colony’s business community. Though not Christians, has parents instilled a mixture of traditional Chinese and humanist ethics into her upbringing. They enrolled her in St. Francis’ Canossian School, where she received the nickname “Fanny”. She petitioned her parents to be baptised, but they insisted she wait until she came of age.
Fanny had to mature early when her father unexpectedly passed away. To resist the social pressure to marry young, she began training to be a nurse at Queen Mary Hospital. In December 1941, shortly after earning her qualifications, Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong. Aided by friends and smugglers, Fanny made a miraculous escape to the Mainland, enduring grave deprivations on the journey: hiding in the bottom of boats, dodging gunfire, and contracting cerebral malaria along the way.
Settling into a new life in southern China, Fanny was recruited by the US Air Force who were seeking trained nurses to supplement their own medical personnel. Contributing to the Allied cause in Ulan and Yunnan, Fanny treated wounds, sheltered from bombers, and mourned the news of her mother’s passing with her American friends.
After Japan’s surrender, Fanny returned to Hong Kong to resume her nursing career. Gradually, her faith deepened through the Legion of Mary, which led her to consider a religious vocation. Following a meeting with Columban Sisters in Ruttonjee Sanatorium, she was accepted and made the long journey to Cahiracon in 1953. After her First Profession of Vows, she took the name Sr. Mary Thomas.
Her first overseas assignment was to Hong Kong. Dispatched to Ruttonjee Sanatorium, Sr. Mary Thomas was given responsibility for transforming the hospital kitchens, infamous for serving unflattering meals. Before long, her strenuous efforts ensured the kitchen was reliably producing popular, nutritious meals. Following this successful enterprise, Sr. Mary Thomas was entrusted with educating the hospital’s lay staff: training medical personnel and teaching English.
Assigned to London in 1972, she oversaw a hostel for international students. She returned to Ireland in 1980, stepping into the role of Magheramore’s principal housekeeper. Assigned once again to Hong Kong in the 1980s she served as a hospital chaplain. She spent much of the 1990s in Britain as bursar in London and in local pastoral work. In 2001, she received her final assignment in Magheramore. On 4th May 2014, the occasion of her 93rd birthday, Sr. Mary Thomas passed away. Beloved as a beacon of inspiration to the whole community, her motto was: “Behold I come to do your will, O God.”
