My sister How Eng (1947-2013).

My sister How Eng, three years older than me, died peacefully this morning. A non-smoker, she had lung cancer which had spread to the brain. But she survived the cancer for more than six years!

Of the seven siblings, the two of us were very close. We were the only two who grew up as children on Pulau Bukom (although I was the only one born there). We fought, played, and rode our bicycles all over the island. She went on to Raffles Girls' Secondary and later became a medical general practitioner. She was always my big sister and did her best to get me to study and not catch spiders or play outdoors till she had to go out to look for me.

This 1958 picture showed the two of us with our father at a Christmas party at the Shell Company employees' club on Pulau Bukom (Why was I looking grumpy? You would too if you had to wear a dunce cap-like hat on Christmas Day!):

  
Dear big sis How Eng, you are now in Heaven.