A 101-year-old man in Singapore passed away on Christmas Day shortly after celebrating Christmas with his family.
Mr Peter Tang Chiok Chu passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones on 25 Dec, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Tang’s granddaughter, 36-year-old business developer Dong Peiyi (transliterated from Mandarin), told the paper that her grandfather lived with her, her parents and her brother.
On Christmas Eve, all four generations of her extended family had gathered at their place to celebrate the festive season.
This would unfortunately be their last moments with him as his breathing began to slow down at about 5pm on Christmas Day.
The whole family rushed back to see him for the last time and he rewarded them with a final loving gesture, Ms Dong said.
He opened his eyes, looked at them and held the hand of each family member, then left peacefully.
According to his obituary in the newspaper, Mr Tang leaves behind a total of 22 family members, including two sons and two daughters, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Source: obits.sg
The extended family has a good relationship and gathers at their home for dinner every Saturday night, Ms Dong said.
Last month, they also celebrated the patriarch’s birthday, taking what could have been their last family photo with him.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Tang was born the youngest of four children on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen.
He followed his sister to Singapore at the tender age of 16, working on a boat and as a labourer.
The hard work and exercise might be the reason why he had always been physically strong, Ms Dong said.
Mr Tang’s good health could also have been due to his simple and healthy diet.
It consisted of sweet potato porridge, steamed fish and vegetables and ginseng tea, his granddaughter said.
He would eat cereal with biscuits for breakfast and porridge for lunch and dinner, avoiding fried food and outside food.
In fact, Mr Tang used to be an avid cyclist and cycled several kilometres from their home in Kovan to Ang Mo Kio to attend church every week, Ms Dong said.
However, he stopped cycling after he got lost, as he didn’t want to trouble others.
In the last two months of his life, he became bedridden due to old age.
According to his obituary, Mr Tang was cremated on Monday (30 Dec) after a funeral mass in church.
Also read: 101-year-old woman dies after single-handedly raising 10 children for 56 years
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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