Born in Singapore on 13 November 1947, Cheong Tong Yian is the third of four children and sister to two foster siblings. Her youth was idyllic, often carousing and getting up to mischief. As the only daughter, she had to push against the tired conceptions expected of her gender back in those days.

Eventually, Ka Yian left Singapore to study nursing in the UK and Scotland. This experience in a new land brought sharp relief to Ka Yian's character. She flourished.

Often described as having a strong personality, Ka Yian is upfront and cuts to the quick. If she doesn't like you, she'll let you know. And when she likes you, she would go out of her way to help you. You'll never have a better person in your corner than Ka Yian.

Her career will take her to Saudi Arabia where she would meet the love of her life: Romeo Laranang Langit. There, in the arid plains, their romance will blossom. You cannot mention one without the other. It is kismet that they met and, it is kismet that when they part from this mortal coil, it would be within days of each other.

Their journey would eventually lead to Houston, Texas. They planted roots and became part of the local Houston chapter of Iglesia ni Cristo founding. Ka Yian's faith is unwavering; you will never meet anyone who is as even-keeled in both her faith in God and science as her. She loves the church and her tenure as a nurse. One of the many things that she will be most remembered for is her cooking. Her pantry is plentiful, and her table is always set. As a fount of charity; Ka Yian and Ka Romeo have taken people under their roof and wings—their impact on the community is immeasurable.

Her prowess in the medical field is unapparelled. Even throughout her stay at the hospital, she still proffered pointers on how she can be better treated. Her bedside is replete with visitors who came by to comfort her; to thank her for what she had done. Ev en when she was warded, she is still tying up loose ends—arranging for her and Ka Romeo's funerals; bill payments; finalizing her will—(Ka Yian even had the final say over this obituary). Even when the end approaches, Ka Yian stubbornly wants to conclude things on her own terms.

Her regrets are few but with a life this large and well-lived, Ka Yian has no qualms about the end. It is often joked that Ka Yian inspired the character, Edna Mode from The Incredibles. But she has inspired much more than that. Her doggedness and unfailing generosity are the very hallmarks of her being.

She is loved—still loved and forever will be—by the people who were lucky to have entered her orbit.; Ka Yian is the sun, and we will mourn her setting, but death is never truly final as long as we carry her rays in our hearts and her memory on our tongues.

Ka Yian's outpouring of generosity is returned a thousand fold by the concerns and love of the people in her life. Your gestures, no matter how small, were a comfort in her final days.

Cheong Tong Yian is survived by her Singapore family (her brothers: Chee Keong and Huat Beng; foster siblings: Lim Pek Geok and Lim Chee Keong; her nieces and nephews: Wayne, Jayne, Ryan, Jeanice, Clifford, Jin Kiat and Chong Kiat; grandchildren: Ansel Cheong, Jude Cheng, Joy Cheng, Enya Tan and Enzo Tan), her extended family through Romeo's daughters and sons in law, Ruby and Richard Carr, Jojina and Christopher Bennett; grandchildren: Brandon Carr, Marissa Chung, Sian Bennett-Motuliki, Alexis Espersen, Zak Bennett and great-grandchildren: Eylana Carr, Ethan Chung, Cayden Chung, Leo Fassnacht, Troy Espersen, Aria Rose Espersen, Justin Bennett-Motuliki, Ace Espersen and Eeva Carr) and her friends and family in Houston (the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation; her Houston Methodist Hospital colleagues).