Obituary of Eugene Yew Chan

Eugene Yew Chan was born on December 4, 1947 in Singapore. He gew up with four brothers. He attended Raffles Institution for his secondary education where Peck was also a student. They didn't meet then. Upon graduation, both attended the University of Singapore, and it was only in their final year that they met through his best friend. Eurgene and Peck were married on September 16, 1972. Eugene worked 10 years as an accountant in Singapore. During that time, their first daughter Ying was born. Eugene always had a spirit for adventure and was eager to push beyond the boundaries of Singapore. In 1979, he decided to pursue post-graduate studies at SUNY Albany that would eventually pave the way for his immigration to the United States.His first job after completing his Masters of Science in Accountancy was at Peat Marwick (now part of KPMG) where he worked for five years before joining Bayerische Landes Bank as their financial controller. He continued at this job until his retirement in 2005. 

In 1981, the family settled in Fort Lee, NJ, and started attending Oversea Chinese Mission where Peck's uncle Torrey Shih was pastor. Their second daughter, Yun, was born in 1983. Eugene and Peck were founding members of OCM's Antioch Fellowship for married couples. Eugene began serving at OCM first as a Sunday School teacher. Eurgene and Peck began their service as fellowship counsellors upon the founding of OCM's Cornerstone Single Adults Fellowship. Eugene also served in OCM's steering committee for seven years, leading the church Finance Department. During these years, Eugene would stay for a few hours after church every Sunday afternoon to work alongside the Finance Department volunteers in managing all the church finances. After his term, he continued to serve as a member of the Finance Advisory Committee. Later Eugene served as a member of the church Rennovation Committee. Most recently, Eugene began volunteering in International Students Inc. reaching out to international students at NYU. Throughout all of his years, Eugene enjoyed nurturing church members through the study of the Word, fostering discipleship relationships with younger members, and discussing ideas on all sorts of topics. Church and ministry occupied a central place in Eugene's life and for he years when he was working as a financial controller, it was a challenging balance he maintained with grace.

Eugene retired early in 2005 in order to amket ime for his first loves - ministry, books, writing, and later, being a grandfather. In 2006, his first grandchild Kaelin was born. A second grandchild Justin was born in 2010. In his retirement, Eugene maintained an active lifestyle, never missing his daily walk. He travelled widely with Peck and enjoyed time with church and family, even spending months in Singapore caring for his mother. He lived life to the full, with a deep sense of purpose. On his last day, he had a very normal morning, stretched out in his favorite chair for an afternoon nap, and woke upin heaven. God has welcomed a son home. We all miss him dearly.

The family will receive their friends on Friday, September 8, 2017 from 5 to 9 PM at the Frank A. Patti and Kenneth Mikatarian Funeral Home 327 Main Street “opposite the Fort Lee Library”.  A religious service will be held at 7:30 pm. 

A funeral service will be held Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 12 pm. Cremation will be private. His cremated remains will be brought to Singapore to join his generational family.

In lieu of flowers the family would like to direct contributions to Oversea Chinese Mission, please add a note! Renovation Fund.

For condolences, directions, or information call (201) 944-0100 or www.frankpatti.com.