Mahs’ patriarch remembered by everyone as Uncle Henry
Respected entrepreneur thought of as family by many in city
“He was always there to help anybody who needed him.”
Gene Zwoz desky
In a city full of thousands of Mahs, Henry Mah was the celebrated patriarch of an entire immigrant Chinese community and a humble father raising two generations in an Ottewell bungalow.
After coming to Canada at the age of 16, Mah became one of the city’s most respected entrepreneurs and restaurateurs, opening a string of successful eateries throughout Edmonton, including the well-known Tiki Tiki, which once stood where Buddy’s Nite Club now calls home, at 11725 Jasper Ave.
He hobnobbed with politicians, met Queen Elizabeth, was awarded the Order of Canada in 2000 and did everything he could for a friend in need.
He died of lung cancer May 13. He was 80.
Mah was a staunch supporter of the provincial Conservative Party and had many lifelong friends who were politicians, including Conservatives Ralph Klein and Gene Zwozdesky and Alberta Liberal Sine Chadi, though he never ran for office himself.
Klein even officiated at the wedding of Mah’s son Andrew.
“He was a golden man who cared deeply about his family and his community and he was always there to help anybody who needed him,” Zwozdesky said, remembering his friend of 40 years.
An early investor in the Baccarat Casino, Mah was a community-minded man who built bridges between the casino and the surrounding neighbourhoods. He was the link connecting an old life in China to new experiences in Canada for many recently arrived Chinese immigrants.
The many Mahs of Edmonton all trace their lineage back to Mah Fook Boo, a 14th-century Chinese cavalry general of the Han dynasty who was immensely loyal and a superbly skilled horseman. The emperor gave him the title Mah, which means horse. Edmonton, a hub of Mahs, is often referred to as the “the Stable.”
Mah was influential in welcoming newcomers to Edmonton, regardless of ethnicity.
“I think he really loved and embraced Canada and Edmonton and he really felt a need to give back to the community,” his daughter Pearl said. Hutterites, East Indians, Ukrainians and many more all thought of him as family.
“Everyone called him Uncle Henry,” his youngest son Terry said.
Mah was born March 18, 1932, in the city of Toishan, in the province of Quangdong in China. His father immigrated to Canada the following year and worked in restaurants across the Prairies. It wasn’t until the Communist takeover in 1949 that Mah and his mother fled China to reunite with his father.
The first several years of life in Canada were hard on Mah. Not knowing a word of English, he was forced to enter Grade 7 at the age of 16. The other children, unfamiliar with the Chinese culture and unable to fathom the difficulty of moving across the world, bullied him, constantly picking fights. He quit school three months later.
In 1950, Mah began his long career in restaurants. Working at his uncle’s Fawn’s Café, then at 9820 Jasper Ave., Mah started at the bottom as a dishwasher and was promoted to waiter after six months.
Despite difficulties in school, Mah was committed to learning the language of his new surroundings. He carried a dictionary in his pocket and learned a new English word each day. He even managed to pick up some Ukrainian from his co-workers.
A year later, Mah became a manager, pulling in a cool $20 a week. In a time where most people were making 35 cents an hour and a cup of coffee cost five cents, Mah’s salary went a long way.
He married his wife, Cindy Seto, in 1959 when he was 28 and she was 22.
Odd jobs at dry cleaners followed, but Mah finally found his groove in sales, working in insurance and at a car dealership. He’d gone from not knowing how to speak English and being bullied at school to being recognized as a top salesman for his people skills.
Mah couldn’t resist the lure of the restaurant business for long. He was sole or part owner of Edmonton restaurants such as Cromdale Restaurant, Upper One Prime Rib House, and Warehouse Restaurant, which housed Edmonton’s first disco, Sugar Tree.
He had a hunger for adventure that long hours in a kitchen couldn’t completely satisfy, recalls Roger Morton, a geologist and retired University of Alberta professor.
In 1989, Morton and Mah began a mining and exploration company called Gamsan Resources. “Gamsan” means golden mountain in Chinese. Chasing the myth of the Lost Lemon Mine, a spectre of a gold mine whose sole finder died before he could let anyone know where it was, Mah and company mined from Jasper National Park to Saskatchewan.
“One of the rules of working with Henry is you had to have a sense of humour,” Morton said, remembering one particularly funny moment involving a snowmobile and an inexperienced Mah.
“Henry in all of his adventurous spirit went out onto the lake,” Morton said. “The next thing we see is a bedraggled, half-frozen Henry staggering into camp saying, ‘Um, I sunk the snowmobile.’ ”
Morton also remembers the ease with which Mah would walk right into the kitchen of any Chinese restaurant they visited along their treasurechasing trail.
He wanted to see the ingredients, talk shop with those in the business, and share stories. Even then, he had a mind for business and a heart for the community.
Mah is survived by his wife Cindy, brother Ric, daughters Pearl Der and Fay Yamada, sons Andrew and Terry Mah, and his six grandchildren, Joey, Bimmy, Kiki, Robbie, Tyler and Kennedy.