Lydia Shum Tin-Ha passed away..

I learned last night that Lydia Shum Tin-Ha had passed away yesterday morning, Feb 19, 2008 in Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. Lydia had been suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, liver cancer, etc. Earlier on she even received a bile duct operation. She was 62 years old, it says 60 or 61 elsewhere. But people say that she was born in 1945.

Lydia leaves behind her 20-year old daughter, Joyce Cheng Yan-Yee whom she had with Adam Cheng.

Lydia started acting when she was 12-13 years old, and has acted in more than 100 movies in Hong Kong and hosted more than 5,000 episodes of variety shows. She was popular and famous despite being overweight because of her good spirit, comedy talent and enormous energy.

Joyce Cheng Yan-Yee held a press conference today where she thanked everyone for their support, and told everyone not to feel sad about her mother's passing. She mentioned that Lydia had been fighting so hard for her life for so long. Joyce believes that she is now in a better and more peaceful place. Lydia was surrounded by family when she passed away. She said that "I will try my best to learn to be a responsible woman, cause that was what mummy wanted."

According to Channelnewsasia.com, Lydia's funeral will be held in Vancouver, Canada. She will be buried next to her mother, who also passed away just a month ago.

Lydia, may you rest in peace. I believe that you will forever be a many people's hearts. I remember seeing her on television when I was a small kid, it's really unbelievably that she has passed away in such a relatively young age. My sincere condolences to Joyce, the rest of the family and Lydia's friends.

Here's a clip from TVB's 40th Anniversary Awards which was her very last appearance on stage. Her daughter sang a song "Connected Hearts"/"Lian Xin"/ "连心" that was dedicated to her mother.