Obituary for Kwee Eng Tan
TRIBUTE to Mrs. K. E. Tan
Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. All that describes Kwee Eng. Born and raised in Singapore, she became a teacher at Methodist Girls School (MGS). She taught the primary classes and two photos in the photo section below will show those early days at MGS in Singapore.
She married Kek Keng in 1947 at Wesley Methodist Church. The event was captured in some newspaper clippings and a picture in one of her albums is in the photo section below. As the bridegroom was a member and officer of the Boys’ Brigade, an honour guard lined the exit of husband and wife from the church.
A pioneer in many ways, she raised 4 children while maintaining a teaching career. In fact, she was also taking courses at the Teacher’s Training College in the early years to improve her education level.
She was the second earner in a two-income family, a feat made possible by clever timing of the 2 jobs. Her husband was a land surveyor for the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) and being outdoor work, they started early in the morning and ended the shift at noon. She taught afternoon school which started at 1 pm. The children were in morning school which ended at 1 pm and their father would pick them up to come home after. SIT subsequently changed its name to Housing Development Board (HDB). They were the organization that built affordable housing for the citizens of Singapore.
In 1953, she moved into a house in Serangoon Garden Estate. It was a semi-detached house and her brother and their parents bought the house adjacent. It was a bonus having grandparents living immediately next door. The family threw a big house warming party upon moving in. See the photo in the photo section below.
In the mid 1960s the family had discussions on emigrating. Her youngest sister, emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia with her family in 1967, first. She, with her husband and children, followed, leaving Singapore in early 1969. They chose to sail on a P&O liner to Vancouver. She and her husband quit their jobs and sold the house to make the move. They had to start again and find new jobs in a new country.
They started by buying a house. It took all their savings, cashed out retirement plans, and sale of the Singapore house. Her husband found a job in the engineering and land surveying industry while she had part time work in child care. It was a challenging time but, as her other sisters and, lastly her brother, also emigrated to Vancouver with their families, it was also a joyous, interesting time.
She loved to cook and threw a lot of extended family parties at the new home. Relatives from Singapore also visited. She and her husband returned to Singapore several times as well. This filled her spare time as her children completed their education, got jobs and moved out of the house.
On retirement, they downsized to an apartment. She travelled extensively, with her sons’ families for BC and cross Canada vacations as well as joining tours to Europe, China and Japan. With more time on her hands, she took up Chinese brush and watercolour painting. She was a talented, enthusiastic and dedicated artist. She was also an expert in handicrafts, e.g., knitting and crochet.
After her husband passed away, in her 90’s, she lived alone for a while in their apartment, then moved to an independent-living facility, Mulberry PARC, where she had a suite. She enjoyed the autonomy and quality of life there, participating in the activities and outings, till she was over 100 years of age. She was a member of the “Knitting for a Cause” club as shown in the photo.
Her 100th birthday was celebrated at the residence with her friends, her caregivers and members of her large extended family. She later moved to an apartment again, with a live-in personal caregiver as dementia set in. She celebrated her 104th birthday with members of her immediate family as shown in the photo.
She also celebrated her 105th birthday, welcoming her 4th great-grand daughter, as well as receiving a congratulatory message from King Charles and Queen Camilla. See the photos in the section below.
She died at home, in her sleep, in the early hours of the morning a few months short of her 106th birthday. She outlived her siblings and is survived by her 4 children, daughter-in-law, 5 grandchildren with their spouses and 4 great-grandchildren.
Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. All that describes Kwee Eng. Born and raised in Singapore, she became a teacher at Methodist Girls School (MGS). She taught the primary classes and two photos in the photo section below will show those early days at MGS in Singapore.
She married Kek Keng in 1947 at Wesley Methodist Church. The event was captured in some newspaper clippings and a picture in one of her albums is in the photo section below. As the bridegroom was a member and officer of the Boys’ Brigade, an honour guard lined the exit of husband and wife from the church.
A pioneer in many ways, she raised 4 children while maintaining a teaching career. In fact, she was also taking courses at the Teacher’s Training College in the early years to improve her education level.
She was the second earner in a two-income family, a feat made possible by clever timing of the 2 jobs. Her husband was a land surveyor for the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) and being outdoor work, they started early in the morning and ended the shift at noon. She taught afternoon school which started at 1 pm. The children were in morning school which ended at 1 pm and their father would pick them up to come home after. SIT subsequently changed its name to Housing Development Board (HDB). They were the organization that built affordable housing for the citizens of Singapore.
In 1953, she moved into a house in Serangoon Garden Estate. It was a semi-detached house and her brother and their parents bought the house adjacent. It was a bonus having grandparents living immediately next door. The family threw a big house warming party upon moving in. See the photo in the photo section below.
In the mid 1960s the family had discussions on emigrating. Her youngest sister, emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia with her family in 1967, first. She, with her husband and children, followed, leaving Singapore in early 1969. They chose to sail on a P&O liner to Vancouver. She and her husband quit their jobs and sold the house to make the move. They had to start again and find new jobs in a new country.
They started by buying a house. It took all their savings, cashed out retirement plans, and sale of the Singapore house. Her husband found a job in the engineering and land surveying industry while she had part time work in child care. It was a challenging time but, as her other sisters and, lastly her brother, also emigrated to Vancouver with their families, it was also a joyous, interesting time.
She loved to cook and threw a lot of extended family parties at the new home. Relatives from Singapore also visited. She and her husband returned to Singapore several times as well. This filled her spare time as her children completed their education, got jobs and moved out of the house.
On retirement, they downsized to an apartment. She travelled extensively, with her sons’ families for BC and cross Canada vacations as well as joining tours to Europe, China and Japan. With more time on her hands, she took up Chinese brush and watercolour painting. She was a talented, enthusiastic and dedicated artist. She was also an expert in handicrafts, e.g., knitting and crochet.
After her husband passed away, in her 90’s, she lived alone for a while in their apartment, then moved to an independent-living facility, Mulberry PARC, where she had a suite. She enjoyed the autonomy and quality of life there, participating in the activities and outings, till she was over 100 years of age. She was a member of the “Knitting for a Cause” club as shown in the photo.
Her 100th birthday was celebrated at the residence with her friends, her caregivers and members of her large extended family. She later moved to an apartment again, with a live-in personal caregiver as dementia set in. She celebrated her 104th birthday with members of her immediate family as shown in the photo.
She also celebrated her 105th birthday, welcoming her 4th great-grand daughter, as well as receiving a congratulatory message from King Charles and Queen Camilla. See the photos in the section below.
She died at home, in her sleep, in the early hours of the morning a few months short of her 106th birthday. She outlived her siblings and is survived by her 4 children, daughter-in-law, 5 grandchildren with their spouses and 4 great-grandchildren.