Urel Chung

Urel Anthony Leonard Chung

November 12, 1950 – November 25, 2022

Urel was born on November 12, 1950. He passed away peacefully at the Ruddy Shenkman Hospice in Kanata on November 25, 2022 at the age of 72.

He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, daughter Carolyn, siblings: Maureen, Faydel and Enid. He was predeceased by his mother, Theresa, father Victor, and his oldest sister Millicent (Jemma). He will be fondly remembered by his many nieces, nephews, cousins, his in-laws, friends and neighbours.

Urel was born in Jamaica where he spent his formative years. He liked to tell stories about some of the mischievous things he did growing up. Many of his childhood adventures included climbing trees of various neighbours with his friends and sisters to get at the irresistible (and off-limits), fruits. These adventures would sometimes end with Urel and his “co-conspirators” either enjoying the “fruits of their labour” or tending the wounds that came from falling out of the trees.

As a young man, Urel had a curious and agile mind. He excelled at math and science. Urel attended Dinthill Technical High School in Linstead, Jamaica. He worked at the local milk factory as a chemist before migrating to New York where he studied computer programming. He was joined by his high school sweetheart Yvonne, and shortly after, they were married in 1973. He settled in Ottawa with his wife Yvonne and daughter Carolyn. He furthered his education by attending Algonquin College.

After graduating from Algonquin College as an Electronics Engineering Technician, Urel joined Reltek, a small engineering company where he reported directly to the president. At Reltek, under the tutelage of the president, Urel quickly became the “go-to” person at work. Among many other responsibilities, Urel designed component screening programs to meet customers’ requirements; provided component engineering support to many of Canada’s military and commercial manufacturers. He also managed the Reliability Enhancement Department. This department was the only independent test laboratory in Canada. Duties included budget projection, replying to RFPs and RFQs, and providing customer service and support. He left Reltek to work at Mitel.

Urel worked at Mitel for seventeen years. For many of those years, Urel was an energetic, personable manager of the Component Engineering group, a service group of engineers responsible for supporting the Hardware designers at Mitel. He oversaw the creation of a new component database, cheerfully led his staff as they spearheaded the Y2K compliance of the hardware portion of all of Mitel's products. Many years later as Mitel evolved, he was once again heavily involved in integrating the Component database into the latest Mitel engineering systems. He spearheaded the compliance to emerging and changing Euro requirements as they evolved. Urel was the bright light and welcoming face that everyone knew. He was always concerned about the personal aspect of everyone's life, and he carried this trait forward into his everyday business practice, where he brought in the human side to the business world. He touched many lives at Mitel and the Ottawa Hi-Tech community.

Urel was an avid golfer and tennis player. Over the years, he and his wife Yvonne played many exciting tennis matches where they ran each other around the court to the point of exhaustion. Golf, unlike tennis for Urel, was less about fitness and strategy and more about relaxation. He would often say, his favourite aspects of golf were the opportunities it offered, to spend time in the company of people he enjoyed.

Urel enjoyed chatting and joking with friends, neighbours and colleagues. He enjoyed sharing his experiences about his childhood, his many trips to New York to visit his beloved sisters, nieces and nephews and cousins. He also enjoyed many quiet hours cleaning his cars while listening to his favorite music. Tending to his lawn during the summer also got top billing.

Urel was strong minded and stubborn at times, but always optimistic. The strength of his mind as well as his optimistic spirit was evident throughout his illness. He focused on the process he had to follow and exuded positive energy the whole time. His fun-loving personality and his unwavering upbeat energy made him a favourite of his doctors and nurses. He was kind and loving and compassionate. He would often seek out opportunities to be of service to others. If he was shovelling his driveway after a snow storm, he would also shovel his neighbour’s driveway. That’s the kind of man he was. He will be remembered for his generous and gracious spirit, his playful nature, his sense of humour and above all, his love of family.

A Visitation and Funeral Service will be held at Tubman Funeral Homes,  Garden Chapel, 3440 Richmond Rd, Nepean (between Bayshore and Baseline Rd)  on Saturday December 10th beginning at 10 am until time of service in the Chapel 12 pm.  Following the service, friends are invited to join the family to celebrate Urel’s life at a reception at the funeral home. The family would like to thank the staff at Ruddy Shenkman Hospice for the compassionate care Urel received. Special thanks to Dr McCurdy and the compassionate staff at the Ottawa General Hospital for their tremendous support over the past several years.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish, donations may be made to the Education Foundation of Ottawa (educationfoundationottawa.ca), or the charity of your choice. Condolences and donations are welcomed at www.tubmanfuneralhomes.com