A Love That Echoes Through Community: Sue & Peter’s Story
After almost 60 years of marriage, Sue and Peter have spent a lifetime showing up for one another and their Surrey community- and when they needed help, that very community gathered around them with connection, confidence, and love. This story is about how love and generosity come full circle.
Sue and Peter have been happily married for almost 60 years. After immigrating to Canada more than two decades ago, they found their place within the local Chinese community and began building a new life together. As newcomers, they faced the usual challenges—from adapting to a new culture to navigating daily life in a different language—but remained committed to supporting one another through it all.
“Life and marriage are about patience, tolerance, and holding each other up through every high and low,” says Peter.
It’s a simple philosophy that has carried them through decades of partnership, shaping not only their relationship with each other but also the way they show up for their community.
Finding home, together
When Sue and Peter first arrived in Canada, neither spoke much English. But even then—and now, in their mid 80s—they never let language stop them from engaging with their community. Sue, in particular, pushed past every challenge, attending local events and embracing every chance she could to connect.
Their openness and willingness to step forward even when communication wasn’t easy, helped them build a life filled with friendships. But as the years passed and they grew older, they began to notice something familiar to many seniors: their social circle was quietly shrinking.
A new place to belong
It was their desire to stay connected to their community that first led them to DIVERSEcity in Surrey.
Sue joined first, around 2014, eager to share her language and culture. She volunteered as a Mandarin instructor in a cultural exchange program, helping bridge the gap for other newcomers seeking connection.
Peter soon followed. For more than a decade, he became a familiar and dependable presence at DIVERSEcity, washing dishes in the community kitchen, helping set up workshops, tending the community garden, and supporting a volunteer-led digital literacy group for older adults.
Volunteering became an extension of their love: a shared purpose and a shared way of giving back.
When life changed, so did their needs
In 2022, Sue’s life—and Peter’s—shifted dramatically when she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a chronic autoimmune disorder that left her relying on a walker and managing constant fatigue and pain. Peter became her primary caregiver, but despite his steady support, Sue felt increasingly overwhelmed by the physical and emotional strain.
They turned to the United Way BC Social Prescribing program, offered through DIVERSEcity, for help. Peter first reached out seeking assistance with a HandyDART application, but it quickly became clear their needs extended beyond transportation. Through Social Prescribing, Peter and Sue were connected to the United Way BC Better at Home program, which offered them housekeeping services, greatly reducing barriers to living independently in their own home.
Soon after, their support network expanded further to include attending the monthly United Way BC Social Meals program, with transportation arranged so Sue could attend. These gatherings became a bright spot—an opportunity for her to connect with peers, rebuild confidence, and feel part of a community again.
For a couple who had spent so many years giving their time as volunteers, it was now their turn to receive support, and they found it in the very community they had helped nurture.
Love that extends beyond home
These days, Sue and Peter are more homebound, but whenever transportation is available, DIVERSEcity staff ensure they can still attend programs.
“Whenever we have the capacity to accommodate transportation, we invite them to join our seniors’ programs, whether that’s a social meal, an education workshop, or lately a weekly gathering designed to build connections between Indigenous Elders and seniors from racialized communities. They really enjoy having the opportunity to connect with people around them,” says Lin Lin, Manager of Community & Volunteer Programs at DIVERSEcity.
Even now, they continue giving back in small ways. “Peter has been helping in the kitchen and [Sue] will stay, playing games, enjoying the company of other seniors,” Lin adds.
The programs have had a transformative impact on Sue.
“I feel stronger and more resilient because of the support I’ve received,” says Sue.
With support from DIVERSEcity and United Way BC Healthy Aging programs, Sue has regained confidence, connection, and a renewed sense of belonging.
For a couple whose love has carried them through nearly six decades, finding this community of support feels like a natural extension of the life they’ve built together. Their love remains constant, now strengthened by the people who surround, uplift, and walk alongside them.
A love story that began with two people has grown into something larger: a reminder that connection, compassion, and community can sustain us at every stage of life.