Ph.D, L.H.D.
Anita Li passed away peacefully in Toronto. The beloved wife of the late Pai Lin Li, she is survived by her daughter Alison (Ernie Hamm), son Bernard (Lynn McDonald); grandchildren Clara, David, Felix and Thea; sisters Paula Wu, Julia Chan (Alois Leblhuber), Lina Voo (Philip Voo), Anna Chan, and Mabel Sin (Orson Sharpe); brother-in-law Arthur Loh, sisters-in-law Lily Chan and Mason Chan, and numerous loving nieces and nephews.

Anita was a psychologist and educator who, as Professor of Educational Psychology at the University Calgary (1971-1995), taught generations of School Psychologists, graduate students, and teachers, many of whom went on to teach her own children. As a researcher, she was passionate about the importance of play to child development. Her many publications focused on the socio-emotional needs of children, including studies of gifted children which earned her a Mensa award for research excellence. One of her final publications is a much-cited early contribution to the study of bullying.

Anita was born in Hong Kong, the daughter of Admiral Sir Andrew Chan Chak, KBE, and his wife Leung Sui Chee. She was fourth in a close-knit family of eight sisters and two brothers who grew up in wartime Mainland China. At Lake Forest College, Illinois, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology, she was known as one of the friendliest and spunkiest women in her class despite grave illness, the death of both parents, and becoming a refugee. She returned to Hong Kong where she taught at the French (now St. Paul’s) Convent School and, together with her elder sisters, helped raise their younger siblings. She was appointed Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong at the age of 26, one of the first women to secure this post. She, with colleagues and life-long friends Gennie Lee and the late Beryl Wright, launched the first Child Guidance Clinic in Hong Kong. As the first Chinese-speaking child psychologist, she contributed to a ten-country, cross-cultural research project on systems of meaning, and she translated and adapted the WISC intelligence test into Chinese. She went on to further studies at the University of Birmingham on a British Council Scholarship.

Anita married Pai Lin Li, a civil engineer, in 1959 at St John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong. Together with their two small children, they went to Australia where they completed graduate studies at the University of Sydney, Anita receiving her MA in Psychology. They immigrated to Canada in 1967, living first in Toronto where Anita worked at Seneca College and OISE. In 1971, she completed her PhD, University of Hong Kong, and the family settled in Calgary where Pai Lin became Chief Building Inspector, City of Calgary, and Anita joined the faculty of the University of Calgary. There, in a sometimes fractious environment, she was respected as a peacemaker and sage. She helped start a program to mentor women faculty and, late in her career, was honoured to serve as Convocation Mace Bearer although the mace was practically taller than she was. She was made Member of the Order of the University of Calgary in recognition of her exemplary and distinguished service to the university community, and awarded alumni membership in Phi Beta Kappa and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Lake Forest College.

Anita served on many boards and committees in the community including the Minister of Education’s Task Force on Gifted and Talented Pupils in Alberta. She was a respected member of the Chinese community and principal of the Calgary Chinese School. As the first psychologist in Calgary fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, her clinical expertise was much sought after to assist new immigrants in their transition to Canada.

Anita and Pai Lin were wise and loving parents, regularly accompanying their children to music lessons and early morning hockey games. They were devout Christians and active members of Holy Cross Anglican Church, its predecessor St. Cyprian’s, and later, the Calgary Chinese Anglican Fellowship. Anita served on the Diocesan Synod. As part of the Rotary Club (Calgary, Downtown), they hosted boisterous Chinese New Year dinners and regular ping pong evenings. Pai Lin with his elegant spin and Anita with her smash made short shrift of opponents in early years, after which they agreed between themselves not to try quite so hard.

In her retirement, she taught herself to play golf and while barely clearing the tee box with her drives, became a keen 9-holer at the Silver Springs Golf & Country Club. She volunteered with school anti-bullying programs and provided music for seniors. She had a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice and, having taught herself to play piano in her youth, had a marvellous ability to sing and play any request by ear. After Pai Lin’s death, Anita made the difficult decision to leave Calgary and her rich community of colleagues and friends of almost 40 years and move to Toronto to be closer to family. There, she relished hands-on grandmothering and took keen interest in the details of her grandchildren’s development. She deepened relationships with her sisters and created a wonderful new network of friends. She became a beloved member of the congregation at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, contributing to fundraising efforts and in exploring alternate forms of worship.

Above all, she was the affectionate and vital center of a sprawling network of family and friends. She was a warm and attentive wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and aunt to numerous nieces and nephews, many of whom considered her a second mother. She was mentor, confidante, role model, and inspiration to countless younger colleagues, students, and friends. Anita was a woman of grace, courage, spirit, and abiding faith who bore hardships without complaint and never ceased to look at the world with a delighted curiosity, extending kindness and friendship to everyone she met, remembering their names, and taking a sincere interest in their lives, even to her final days.

Family and friends may call at the Turner & Porter, Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St W, Toronto, Monday, August 28, 6-8 pm. Funeral service will be held at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 151 Glenlake Ave, Toronto, on Tuesday, August 29 at 11 am. She will be buried beside her husband in Calgary. A Celebration of Life will be held at Silver Springs Golf & Country Club, 1600 Varsity Estates Dr NW, Calgary,Thursday, August 31, 2:30-5:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Toronto, or to the University of Calgary, “Anita K.F. Li Graduate Scholarship” (https://netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/anitali) Condolences may be left at www.turnerporter.ca

. . . In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.