Helen Tan passed away peacefully in her sleep in her home on February 9, 2023 at the age of 101.

Helen Tan, née Kuo Kuan-Tsung, was born in Fuzhou in southern China on December 24, 1921.  She was the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters.  She attended Fu Jen University in Beijing after World War II and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Literature.  Her first marriage to Ku Nai-Jen, an air force pilot, ended tragically in an air accident, leaving her with an infant son.  In 1949, she embarked on a journey to London where she would learn secretarial skills that would help her get a job at the Bank of China.  There, soon after Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, she would meet Lawrence Tan.  They married in 1957 and had two sons.

In 1968, the family moved to Lawrence's home country of Singapore.  Helen helped Lawrence set up a civil engineering practice while also creating a nurturing environment at home.  In their mid-fifties, Lawrence and Helen decided to move to the United States where Helen had family so that their sons would have greater opportunities.  They arrived at JFK airport in January 1978 and built a new life from scratch in Miami, Florida.  Seven years later, they would attend one son's graduation from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the other son's graduation from Cornell in the same weekend.  Their sacrifices had paid off.

Helen worked as a bank teller and loan officer at the First National Bank of South Miami until she retired at the age of 70.  In 2003, Lawrence and Helen embarked on their next adventure when they moved to Laguna Woods, California.  After Lawrence's passing in 2005, Helen continued her avid interest in growing orchids, playing bridge and writing.  She wrote short stories about her life and topics that interested her. In her 90s, she published these stories in two books, one in Chinese and the other in English.

Helen was a simple and yet complex individual.  She was regal and down to earth at the same time.  She was not wealthy, but she was rich with life experiences.  She was loving and gentle, but she was no pushover.  She did not care for fashion, but she had style.  She was her own person and that was grand.

Helen is survived by her sons Charles, Ming and Song and her grandsons James, Toby and Lucas, all of whom she loved dearly.

The family plans to hold a memorial event in Fall 2023.