Teresa Hsu Chih

Early years Hsu was reportedly born on 7 July 1898, in the Shantou prefecture of China, during the reign of the Manchu Qing dynasty, although this has never been independently verified. When Hsu was young, her father walked out on the family for another woman. Her mother, who was illiterate, had to fend for her three daughters and one brother singlehandedly. At 16, her family moved to Penang in Malaya, where they worked as cleaners in a convent. As she did not want to be a cleaner all her life, Hsu asked the nuns there to allow her to study with the children, and they agreed. Combining study with work, she passed her Senior Cambridge examinations four years later. Equipped with a basic education, she ventured to Hong Kong to work and, later, to Chongqing, China, where she became a secretary and bookkeeper at a German news agency in the 1930s. She quit her job to become a volunteer, helping the injured during the Sino-Japanese War.

Recalling her inability to help the wounded people whom she saw during the Second World War, Hsu decided to become a nurse. As she was overaged at 47, she wrote a request to the chief matron of the Nursing Council in London. Touched by Hsu's sincerity and dedication, her application was accepted. She spent eight years in England doing nursing and another eight in Paraguay as a member of the German charity group Bruderhof, to start hospitals and homes for the aged there.

Home for the Aged Sick

In 1961, she came to Singapore to live with her older sister, Ursula, late principal of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Bukit Timah. On seeing her dedication and commitment in helping the poor and sick, Ursula bought her a 0.6-hectare piece of land at Jalan Payoh Lai in 1965, so that Hsu could open the first home for the aged sick in Singapore.

The sisters converted a servants' quarters and a bungalow into wards for their patients, but it became increasingly difficult to cope with the numbers. In 1970, with about 100 patients, they approached the Rotary Club for funds. The Rotary Club agreed to finance the home on condition that the club take over the running of it. The sisters handed the deeds over to the Society for the Aged Sick, an association formed by the Rotary Club members. The society built three blocks to house the increasing number of residents and Hsu remained the home's matron until 1980, when she was asked to retire at 83. When asked where all her compassion and deep caring came from, she replied:

Lifestyle

Hsu was still actively involved in charity work after turning 110. An advocate of healthy living, Hsu often gave public talks at schools, welfare homes, and hospitals in Singapore and overseas about health and service to the needy. At home, she had a 2,000-volume private library she called Prema, which in Sanskrit means "divine love". Her final days were kept busy with trips to help needy senior citizens, reading and yoga practice at her sparsely-furnished single-storey house attached to the Society for the Aged Sick. In the 1950's she became an ethical vegetarian. Hsu ate one raw egg everyday for breakfast. In her last 13 years, she was given vegetarian food including fresh organic vegetables every week by her helpers.

Death Hsu died at home on 7 December 2011 and was cremated on the same day without any rites, per her instructions. She was believed to be the oldest living person in Singapore at the time of her death, although later that year Fadilah Noor Abbe was reported to have been born in 1897.

Commendation 2009 aged 111: Public Service Star 2006 aged 108: Received the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre's Special Recognition Award from Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar. 2004 aged 106: Received the Sporting Singapore Inspiration Award from Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, for her devotion to the teaching of yoga. 2003 aged 105: Honorary doctorate degree conferred by the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. 2002 aged 104: Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. 1997 aged 99: Named 'Hero for Today' by the Chinese-edition of the Reader's Digest. 1994 aged 96: Received the Community Service Award awarded by the Life Insurance Association for her contribution to community service. 1988 aged 90: Guinness Stout Effort Award.