Boon was born on November 28th 1931 in Guangzhou. He was the eldest of three children whose father was a writer and newspaper publisher. When he was 5, the family moved to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the Sino-Japanese War broke out and by Christmas, 1940, Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese. Boon’s father, as a newspaper journalist, had to flee to the interior of China to continue publishing his newspaper. He worked in the city while settling his family in the safety of the village. At the age of 10, Boon became the head of the household taking care of his mother and his one year old brother. The threat of war was always near and food was scarce but he took charge bravely.
After the war, the family moved back to Hong Kong in 1947, but Boon chose to study at the Guangya High School in Guangzhou to prepare for university in Beijing. Again his peaceful life was interrupted . The Communist party took over China and before he could finish high school he had to return to Hong Kong. He finished his high school education at Ling Ying College and continued his studies at the Far East Aviation Engineering College as an aircraft mechanic. He was hired by HAECO , the only company that provided services for commercial aircraft maintenance for the entire Southeast Asia. He was promoted to head his team and was sent to England, Australia, and Singapore to receive specialized training which qualified as an engineer for maintaining new aircrafts.
In 1962, Boon married Mei-Ling, a young nurse, and soon became parents to two sons. However, the good life did not last long, for Hong Kong was in the midst of great turmoil. Having been through wars and internal struggles, he decided to bring his family to Canada where he worked for Air Canada. Boon and Mei-Ling raised their two sons to be accomplished professionals. Christopher is an orthodontist married to Sherry who is an optometrist. Bill is a software engineer and is married to Maria, an environmental engineer.
Boon retired at 60 and was able to live a good life, enjoying his classical music and photography. He and Mei-Ling became world travelers to almost all the continents. When he is at home, he enjoyed FaceTime with his three grandchildren, Zoe, Zachary, and Abigail. Boon was a quiet and gentle man, beloved and remembered by his numerous nieces and nephews as Uncle Boon with his constant smile.